Beneath This Gruff Exterior
by See That Guy
Summary: A wastelander learns the hard way what radiation and sheer fate can do. Now mutated, he must adapt to a new life beneath a gruff exterior.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

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><p><strong>"I know not what weapons World War III will be fought with, but I do know that World War IV will be fought with clubs and stones."<strong>

**-Albert Einstein**

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><p>When most people see me, they run. Well, they'll either run or shoot at me. Come to think of it, most people just shoot at me because they know they cannot outrun me.<p>

Why is that? I'm a deathclaw. That's why humans shoot at me or run from me. Once a raider saw me and peed all over himself. I thought that was pretty funny.

I wasn't always a deathclaw, you know. A year ago, I was a human that wandered in the Capital Wastes armed with deathclaw gauntlets. I wasn't good with guns, so I stuck with the gauntlets. It took a lot of saving to buy two of them, and it also didn't help that most merchants didn't see eye to eye with me.

I don't know why I chose deathclaw gauntlets. It may have been because I was terrible with guns and wanted to give the impression that I was strong enough to take two deathclaws out and use their hands as weapons. What's funny is, it kind of worked. Talon Company stayed away from me, but then again they had no interest in me to begin with. Raiders would want you to think they were afraid of nothing, but if you're walking around wearing the hands of the scariest monster out there like gloves, they have a high chance of heading for the hills.

It doesn't work all the time. I almost got captured by Super Mutants once, and I would have if a couple of passing mercs didn't see me. They put a few holes in the big green idiots and moved on.

I may be one of the only talking, intelligent deathclaws you would meet. I remember reading somewhere once (when I was still human) that there were once talking deathclaws. I don't know everything about them, but appearantly the Enclave wanted deathclaws smart enough to obey orders but not smart enough to question them. Unfortunately for them, the deathclaws they boosted intelligence in _were_ smart enough to question the morality of the orders they were given. I find something about that ironic: The creature known across the nation (what's left of it) for killing anything nearby except other deathclaws without provocation is questioning morality?

I digress. To tell my story, I must bring you back, back to when I made the mistake that cost me most of my humanity.

I say "most of my humanity" for a reason, and most people miss that one reason:

Beneath this gruff exterior is a normal human mind and a normal human heart.

End of Prologue

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><p><strong>I'm not promising that this story will continue to the end. I'm not promising that I'll proceed with it. It's going to be one of the most bizarre things I'll ever write.<strong>

**I know the Prologue is short, but they usually are with me. For now, I want to see how this story fairs. If it generates positivity, it'll stay for a while; if not, then it goes away.**

**If it's interesting, stay tuned. You'll see where I'm going with this.**


	2. Sanctuary! Sanctuary!

**Chapter 1**

**Sanctuary! Sanctuary!**

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><p><strong>"Only the dead have seen the end of war."<strong>

**-Plato**

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><p>Before I got the deathclaw gauntlets, I spent most of my time inside city walls doing what I could to "raise" money. By "raise money" I mean... take stuff. Not to brag or anything, but I got pretty good at stealing. I <em>did<em> carry a gun until I got the gauntlets. It was your average Five-Seven, but that didn't mean I could hit anything.

That's not entirely true. If there was something important nearby, I'd probably hit that. That's life, right?

Finding two deathclaw gauntlets for sale to be used on both hands was tough, but once I got past the "Why should I sell to you, Cord?" and other nonsense, altogether they cost somewhere around 900 caps. It took months, but I finally got the money together and bought them. By then, I wasn't allowed in most of the stores in town and the sheriff was looking for reasons to throw me out. I'm not bad, but... I needed money and supplies.

I had to start going out into the wastes more. I started to go out pretty often after I found a working Geiger-Counter.

Sometimes I wished I were a Vault-Dweller. They get Geiger Counters installed in their stupid little Pip-Boy things... and then they come out of their little Vaults complaining about how horrible it is in there. I know being underground in an unchanging environment isn't a picnic, but at least you don't have to fight for survival every waking moment of your life.

That's the plus to being a deathclaw. If you're around your own kind, humans and other creatures don't mess with you.

It happened when I was running from battle. I'd been walking for days. I was having a wonderful stroke of luck. The most I ran into while walking the past few days was a mole rat, and I was also finding some good loot. I found some gold rings, pre-war books, and I even managed to find an assault rifle in very good condition. All of the loot I found could be sold for the right price to the right person.

I got greedy. That's why I was running around still. I should have turned back when I had the chance. Instead, I was running for my life. I bumped into an Enclave squad.

...Let's just say they didn't appreciate my sudden appearance. They started shooting at me with energy weapons. The assault rifle I found had no ammunition, and I would never make it close enough to attack with my gauntlets. I had to run.

One beam grazed my leg, but adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I knew these guys were right behind me, and I knew I had to vanish fast... so you could imagine my relief when I found a cave blocked off by a chain-link door. I didn't know where I was going. I just wanted to hide. I opened the doors and leapt inside.

The darkness took me by suprise and I stumbled into the unknown. Somewhere along the line I hit my head. No, I didn't get knocked unconscious, and I wasn't hurting too much... but I did lose my bearings. The caves I entered extended in seemingly every direction. Once my eyes got adjusted to the low light, I stood. I couldn't hear the Enclave behind me, but my curiosity got the better of me. I started wandering deeper and deeper into the caves.

I was staying low and staying quiet. As a human, I tried to stay very quiet in places unknown. I had no idea what was in this cave.

It was around then that I heard movement down further in the caves. I tiptoed further down to investigate the sounds... and I almost passed out.

There was a family of deathclaw just around 50 feet in front of me.

_It doesn't look like they know that I'm... what the-_

There was worse news. My Geiger Counter was going off.

Now I had two choices: Be gored by the Deathclaws, or die by radiation.

I started to wonder how long my Counter was going off. I'd been so focused on sneaking around that I wasn't paying attention to the soft "Tick-Tick-Tick" continuously sounding from the counter in my pocket.

I turned and started trying to find my way out. I didn't want to die.

Even though I was being irradiated, I had to stay calm and quiet. I wandered through the caves but no matter how far I went, the "Tick-Tick-Tick" wouldn't stop.

I bet if I didn't tumble into the caves, I'd have found the exit in no time. Unfortunately, I was lost.

I actually bumped into a deathclaw while I was walking... but something was strange. I braced myself to fight (die), but it seemed indifferent to my presence. I know it saw me. It was eyeing me. Even so, it just continued walking...

...this was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. Was it one of those intelligent Deathclaws?

My Geiger Counter prevented me from actually investigating, and I continued searching for a way out. By now I'd been through several corridors. I saw some eggs, and I even saw the corpses of a few raiders that must have had the same fate as I. The radiation did a number on the bodies, but from what I could tell, they were here for no more than a day before me. I assumed the Deathclaws were resistant, if not immune to radiation. I saw none of their bodies on the floor.

I wasn't making any progress getting out of the cave. All I was doing was digging myself into a deeper hole. The radiation was becoming intense, and I could feel it burning itself into my skin.

By then, I had been walking through the cave trying to find the exit for a few hours. The radiation started to make me feel strange. I felt... it almost felt like anxiety; like my organs were burning. I felt my muscles straining, and my head started to hurt.

It was too late. I couldn't move anymore and I felt... I can't describe it. I felt strained, cramped... burning...

I collapsed, and lost consciousness.

0.0

I do not know how long I was out for, but I was certainly... suprised that I was still breathing. My eyes remained shut, but I no longer felt the burning of radiation. I no longer felt like I was going to die, but I still did feel very strange.

With great effort I sat up with what was supposed to be a groan. It sounded more like a grunt than anything, but even so... I assumed it was from being irradiated for who knows how long. I instinctively put a hand to my head, but I paused before I touched, and opened my eyes. I let out a low growl and went to take off the deathclaw gauntlet. The last thing I wanted to do was turn out to be immune to radiation (or a ghoul) and then kill myself because I forgot to remove a gauntlet. I went with my other hand to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. I was... curious, to say the least. I also started to grow concerned, as when my other gauntlet-equipped hand touched the former, I could feel it like it was my skin.

"What the-" I cut myself off. My voice even sounded different; deeper. Dehydration would not do that, and if I were becoming a ghoul, my voice would be raspy or weak. This voice was strong; booming, deep. I started to wonder what happened to me.

Having then noticed that my Geiger Counter was no longer going off, I thought I was out of the heat. I went to reach down into my pocket for the Counter to see if I was safe (safe-ish; there were still deathclaw all around me), but my eyes widened when I realized that I felt no fabric. I was naked.

_...Oh, darn..._

I wanted to know then just what was going on, so I looked over myself and my heart almost leapt out of my chest and down into the dark cave. My skin was leathery and brown, and I felt like I was built by muscle. I looked at my arms and saw the reason the gauntlets weren't coming off: I wasn't wearing them anymore. My arms looked incredibly strong, and I looked at what I mistook for my gauntlets. They were my hands now; the hands (or paws) of a deathclaw. I gingerly wiggled a few clawed fingers, trying to see if I was just hallucinating or something. After I did that I looked down at my body and saw that I was _huge_; tall and muscular. I was at least 9 or 10 foot as opposed to my original 5 foot 6 inches (I wasn't the tallest guy you'd ever meet). I looked down at my legs and saw that they were as strong as the rest of my body. I was built to kill now. I realized why I couldn't hear my Geiger counter anymore. It was likely crushed when my clothes ripped off as this happened. I went to stand, but I couldn't figure out how to balance in this form. I opted to dig my reptillian toes into the dirt for support, but I fell back down again and landed on a tail- my tail.

I didn't feel my fall and tried to stand again. I managed, but I had to put a hand (or paw) on the cave wall to avoid falling, especially while my mind was racing the way it was.

I didn't make a peep, but I also felt like my senses were heightened. I could smell the other deathclaw (they reeked) and I could hear them moving around in all other directions.

I was still clutching the wall and I stumbled forward.

"What deathclaw doesn't know how to walk?"

I stumbled until I managed to turn my big frame around and I almost let out a gasp.

There was a deathclaw standing right behind me, arms crossed over its chest with a smirk on its face.

"What, did something hit your head? And sheesh... you found a human wandering around in here, did you?"

I blinked. "Uhh..."

"Wait... no... You're that... You're that dopey human I saw wandering around here a few hours ago!" The deathclaw (which I'd then realized was a female) put a finger to her maw. "Hmm... I can't quite place my claw on it, but there's something... different about you, human..."

I said nothing and she continued.

"Oh, wait... maybe it's the fact that you _aren't_ a human anymore!"

The fact that I could understand this deathclaw made sense, considering I now was one. I wondered if humans could understand my speech...

"Why didn't you attack me like those raiders?"

The deathclaw took a step forward.

"You aren't the only human to wander in here with our hands. You're lucky you're a sneaky human, or else someone would have ripped your head off... well, when you _wer_e human, that is."

"Why did this happen to me?" I asked. I was still getting used to this deeper voice. The deathclaw before me almost seemed to smirk again.

"Think about it. You walked in here wearing our hands as weapons -I should have killed you for that- and you were... what do you humans call it... irradiated! Something in our hands merged with your body, and... poof! You're a deathclaw!"

I blinked.

"...Okay, maybe not 'Poof'... it's more of an slow, painful transformation. If you can come up with a word for that..."

"Mutation..." I muttered.

"Hey! That's a good one! Name's Kastine."

"I was... mutated?"

"...Yeah, typically when someone says their name, you're supposed to respond with yours. Soo..."

I shook my head a little and stumbled to the ground. Kastine snorted in amusement.

"My name is Cord."

"Well... what can you do now..."

"I can ask questions."

"You humans always ask so many questions..."

I crawled forward, and she scoffed.

"How pathetic. At least stand!"

I paused. "I can't stay up." She sighed through her nostrils.

"I guess I have to do _everything_ for you... Just stand up, and look straight ahead. Your tail will balance you."

I pushed off the ground with my paws and did as she said, but I fell on my rear. She didn't make a sassy remark, but instead crossed her arms again and eyed me.

I said nothing and tried again, this time managing to get onto my feet. I looked ahead at Kastine and made an attempt at a smile. She responded with a grin.

"Good job! You can walk... like me... and everybody else. Idiot."

"I don't understand still why you didn't attack me," I said.

"Did you want me to?"

I shook my head. "No, I just... want to know. Most deathclaw would kill me on sight."

"Not anymore."

"...will you _please_ answer my question!"  
>She put her paws out. "Woah! Calm yourself, my grumpy wittle lizard! Fine, I spared you because... I was curious. I knew you were sick and I just wanted to see what would happen to you."<p>

"Can radiation still hurt me?"

She shook her head. "It can only hurt you in extreme amounts, but what we're experiencing now won't do anything; that is, it won't hurt or help you."

I nodded. Now I was no longer relying on the wall for support. I found my balance, and took a few wobbly steps towards Kastine.

"You should be honored, Cord. You're probably the only deathclaw that can actually talk to humans."

I growled. "Yes, but at what expense? I wasn't exactly living the life as a human, but what the hell can I do like _this?_"

Kastine turned away. "Well, maybe... and I'm just throwing an idea out there... maybe you can use your claws to hunt? No... you can be the first vegan deathclaw!"

I ignored her sarcasm. "How can I get out of here?"

She turned back in suprise. "This is our sanctuary. You should stay here. Deathclaws won't attack their own kind. Usually. Unless they're really pissed off..."

"No, I want to explore, not be cooped up here... no offense."

She sighed through her nostrils again. "Yeah, whatever. Remember where this sanctuary is located, hey. All deathclaws are welcome here. Except ones that annoy me, and you're on the borderline. Yeah, the exit is straight behind me. You were close!"

I nodded. "Thank you. Do you want to come with me?"

Kastine shook her head. "No, I quite like it here... Yeah, come back some time, hey?"

I nodded. "I will."

I walked past her slowly and noticed that as I walked, my paws would naturally want to be held a little in front of me, seemingly for balance. Not all the way out like a zombie, but... Hey, as long as I could walk now, I don't care.

Still, all this stuff was happening too quickly. My mind was racing and still trying to register what happened in that cave.

I found the chain link fence I came in through after a few minutes of walking and growled. If I'd only managed to last a bit longer... but then again, what would have happened if I got out of here... but barely? Would this have still happened?

It took a little time to get the gate open. I was fumbling with the latch for a few minutes. When I finally got it open, I caught the smell of sweat, chemicals, and misery... the Enclave.

I knew I was strong and dangerous now, but I wouldn't last long against the Enclave, especially when I wasn't exactly certain yet how to defend myself or even run.

I know that deathclaws combine their physical strength and speed to take down targets. I was proud that I was able to even walk.

I looked back at the sanctuary I was leaving behind, and then forward out at the unknown. I cringed when I saw a human running and a deathclaw charging after it. I looked down at my feet and then out at the land again and started trying to run. I stumbled a few times but did what Kastine told me about walking: I looked straight ahead. I still couldn't really run so good, but I assumed it was something with my tail.

I sighed. This was going to take some getting used to.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>I forgot to post this chapter yesterday. Again, you'll see where this is going in a while.<strong>

**Next chapter covers... ah, hell if I know.**


	3. The Kid From Vault 101

**Chapter 2**

**The Kid From Vault 101**

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><p><strong>"I am tired of fighting... Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I shall fight no more forever!"<strong>

**-Chief Joseph, _1877_**

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><p>After a few weeks adjusting to my new form (I probably should have stayed in the Sanctuary), I grew to learn a few things. I learned how to run, fight, and jump (more or less). I also learned that humans are just as dangerous as deathclaws when you wander too close. I wouldn't blame them. If a deathclaw was wandering too close to my camp, I'd start shooting, too.<p>

Some humans run from me, like I say. When they do, I always feel a pang of relief. While only a few bullets won't kill me, they still can hurt like hell!

Besides, I've got better things to do than stick around and fight whenever someone shoots at me.

Once I had down the basics to movement and defense, I was sticking around a camp that some people left in a hurry, looking for a radio I could listen to. There were only a few channels that could come in, but I liked Galaxy News Radio the best. When I was human, sometimes I'd turn the channel to the Enclave station just to piss a few people off.

Although, before my stupid move a few weeks ago, GNR wasn't coming in on radio stations. I wondered what happened to the signal...

I wasn't about to go to D.C and find out. Even though I was tough to kill, I knew I wouldn't last long against a bunch of green idiots with guns... not to mention the Brotherhood of Steel.

You could imagine my suprise when I heard GNR loud and clear on the radio I "borrowed". Finally, something _good_ to listen to! (The host even delivers little public service announcements at the conclusion of some GNR broadcasts. Sometimes he forgets what he's already delivered and repeats old messages. It's kind of funny, actually.)

Just picture this: Before you in the middle of nowhere under an old freeway overpass is an abandoned camp made by humans. There is no sign of the original life there; just a fire going and a radio playing. Sitting by the fire listening to the radio eating all the food it could find is a deathclaw. It turns its head and notices you, but doesn't get up, and then it lets out a snort sounding sort of like a scoff at something said on the radio. That's kind of what I was doing, except nobody happened upon me.

Three Dog (that's the host) started talking about someone he was calling "The Lone Wanderer", saying that she was out of Vault 101. She also appearantly fixed whatever was wrong with his signal, so she sounds O.K in my book.

I wanted to find some way to take the radio with me, but the only satchels I could find were too small to carry it. I wasn't about to walk around with a radio in one paw. Again, I wished I had a Pip-Boy. They have radios, too.

The radio broadcast continued. After Three Dog mentioned this "Lone Wanderer" fixing his signal, he said that she'd been missing for a few days now. He seemed pretty peeved that someone may have hurt her.

"So, children. If you see hide or hair of that nut from 101, you might wanna rap with her; see what's what. GNR reports say she was last seen near an old barn a few miles southwest of Megaton. Oh, and uh... be careful. I'm getting reports of raiders making that barn home-sweet-home. Now, some music."

Be it luck, destiny, fate, or a random coincidence, I wasn't far off of that barn. It's actually where I found the Assault Rifle. I decided to take a look around. Why not, you know? I'd eaten all the food I could find at that camp anyway, so maybe I could find a meal there for later.

I started running. The sound of the radio faded off behind me. At some points I had to slow down and navigate the rough terrain. I wasn't good enough at this to just jump over things in my way.

I was interrupted while running by a straggling group of what looked like slavers. They had a few people with them and unfortunately spotted me.

"Oh, shit!" called one. They turned and started firing their weapons at me. I started doing a technique I put together over the past few weeks: Run in a zig-zag to avoid the gunfire. I was lucky this time. The slavers before me were either less experienced than I was (which is shocking) or just had crappy guns.

With about three weeks of experience built from practicing running and swiping, I sliced at the first of three slavers. I ran my claws into his torso while he went to reload his weapon, and then I tossed him towards one of the other slavers. The slaves they had were running for their lives (likely in the direction of the slave headquarters; they were wearing slave collars that blow up if you don't run in the right direction.)

With a scream, the second of the slavers fell. I took a few bullets this time, but I bit back the pain long enough to glare at the third slaver. He started pulling the trigger on his handgun, but he was out. He dropped the gun, and started shaking, putting his hands out towards me while he edged backward. I knew that I was very lucky.

"N-n-n-Nice deathclaw... good..."

I let out a low growl. "Leave."

He fell back on his rear in suprise. "You talk?"

That's when I took a step closer.

"Leave now!"

"Oh, shit...!"

I didn't bother to stop and check on the slaves. I wasn't here to save them. I was only defending myself.

Seeing that there were no more slavers around me, I continued running.

While I ran, I started thinking. How long were these raiders at that barn? Were they there when I looted it? Did I actually loot _raiders_? I growled. Just what was my plan? Sure, I'm able to take more punishment now... but I don't know what kind of weapons these raiders had... or even how experienced they are. I stopped running and looked down at the bullet wounds I received from the slavers. They had coagulated, but I needed to get the bullets out. I didn't have any medical supplies and I only had some medical knowledge, but I knew that my wounds could wait for a little while.

Now I needed to find this barn and hope to find a Stimpack or two. Stimpacks boost the body's reaction to foreign invaders and foreign objects such as the bullets. If I could get an injection, my body would reject the bullets; that is, push them back out the way they came (provided they didn't move). If that wasn't possible, I'd have to find a doctor that could treat me without peeing all over himself/herself. If _that_ wasn't possible, I could always pick the bullets out with my claws and hope for the best...

I wondered what would happen if I found a stimpack. I knew that they would help humans, but what about deathclaws?

It was around then that I saw the barn. I took a breath through my nostrils and could smell chems, sweat, and stupidity: the three calling cards of a raider camp. I saw one standing in front of the barn, one in the back, and knowing the raider's predictable defense points, one was probably staring out a window on the second floor somewhere. I walked slowly towards the raider in the back, trying to stay quiet.

He was smoking, and his weapon (a hunting rifle) was leaning against the barn wall. Sitting duck... I looked up at the back of the barn but saw no window, meaning that the raider likely posted on the second floor couldn't see what I was about to do.

I put one massive paw over the raider's face to stop him from yelling and drove my claws through his back. I ignored the cigarette that lightly burned my palm, and all the raider managed was a muffled "Mmph!"

Once he stopped moving, I gently placed him on the ground to avoid detection and started around the barn.

I bumped into a raider around the corner and we both gasped. As she went to bring her gun up, I stabbed her with two claws, letting a grunt escape her lips. She started to cough up blood for a few moments before falling to the ground with a quiver.

"Huh? Lane? What's going on out there?"

I looked at the dead raider and then I heard someone walking down the steps inside the barn. I also heard a muffled shout. I grinned, knowing that this girl Three Dog was concerned for may be in the barn and also knowing that whatever raider waited on the second floor blew his cover. Even so, I was not paying attention to movement behind me. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back and I whirled around with a loud roar, slicing at my attacker. There was a combat knife now embedded in my back, and it hurt like _hell!_

"Oh, shit! A deathclaw!"

The next thing I knew, I'm being shot at again. I let out a cough and I ran towards the next attacker, taking a few more bullets before managing to kill that raider, too. I held my head in the air and started snorting, trying to find any sign of straggling raiders, but I could smell none. Even if there were some, odds were slim that I could smell them. The stench of chems and beer burned my nose... the beer smelled like a cheap knockoff brand. I know my alcohol.

I walked through the barn door. The raiders had a decent setup here. There was a lot of food (I have to eat a lot to support myself now), a lot of chems, and there were even weapons lying around. They even killed some of their own for some reason. One was impaled to the wall by spikes, and "Dissenter be damned" was written in his blood. My eyes wandered to a blonde haired girl bound and gagged on the dirty barn floor. She'd suffered from physical abuse courtesy of the raiders, and she eyed me in horror.

I put my paws out to try and calm the girl. She was the only captive.

"I am not here to harm you," I said. The girl's eyes widened even more. She looked to be in her late teens, and she had green eyes. I crouched and carefully cut the fabric from her mouth. She started to hyperventilate.

"You're... You're a... a deathclaw! Deathclaws can't talk..."

I smirked. "Says who?"

"How can you..."

"Let us get out of this barn first."

She nodded, but she seemed... amazed. Amazed, and scared.

With that, I nodded. I held up one claw. "I'm going to cut off your binds. I will not harm you."

She nodded once more. I could smell the fear on her, too. I could smell a spike in the terror she felt when my claw sliced through the ropes binding her wrists, and I could smell the terror when I stood quickly (and stumbled backward). She slowly got up, and went to pick up a weapon along with a bag she said she was carrying when she was captured.

With that, we left the barn. I mentally cursed myself for forgetting the food. Once we were a good distance away, the girl frowned at me.

"You're hurt," she pointed out. I looked at my torso and the many bullet holes and remembered there was a combat knife stuck in my back.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Like the dickens," I said. She took the bag she was carrying off her back and opened it. "Let me help you. I was a nurse in Vault 101 with my Dad."

I smiled as softly as I could. "So you're the kid from Vault 101 Three Dog speaks so highly of?"

She eyed me in suprise. "Amazing... you can talk, you're intelligent, and you even listen to the radio?"

I nodded. "I like Galaxy News. Sure beats the Enclave's channel."

She smiled. "It wasn't a big deal. I just replaced a dish, that's all."

"He says you shot your way into the Mall to get the dish."

"This might hurt." She was holding a scalpel and tweezers. "I need to get the bullets out, first. Uh, yeah... the Super Mutants didn't like having me around."

She cut through the scabbing to get access to one of the bullets. I didn't flinch at the pain. My pain tolerance was higher, but like I said, being shot still hurts. I saw her pull out one of the bullets from the slavers, and she smiled. "That's one. Now... six more to go."

The rest of the bullets came out the same way as the first. I could feel her shaking while she treated me.

"Do I really scare you that much?"

"Sorry, I know you saved me and I have no real reason not to trust you, but... deathclaws are known mostly for killing and eating everything in sight. Did you plan to go back and eat those raiders?"

I shook my head. "I planned on getting all the food they had back there. Did you see some of that stuff?"

She giggled. "Are you hungry?"

"I ate not long ago; just want to have a source for next meal. No humans, I assure you."

"I believe you. My name is Milly. Do you have a name?"

"I'm called Cord."

"...Cord? What a strange name..."

I snorted. "Yeah, well, a name is a name."

She blinked. "Wait, do all deathclaws have names like 'Cord'?"

I thought for a moment. "Good question. Do all humans have names like 'Milly'?"

Think about it. I just met this girl and as far as she knows I'm a talking deathclaw. My game plan was to pretend I'd always been one until I was sure I could trust this girl- if we ever saw each other after this.

"...Touché... Oohh... you do realize you have a knife in your back... right?"

I nodded. "Yes, that happened outside the barn."

"I can fix it. I only have two stimpacks left. A stimpack boosts the body's immune response... that means..."

"I know what that means."

She eyed me for a moment, then went and pulled the knife from my back slowly, pressing a cloth against my back to stop the bleeding. Once my wound coagulated, she injected me with a stimpack.

Well, it turns out stimpacks have a side effect for deathclaws. Not long after she injected me, I started to get a pounding headache. I felt nausea, dizziness, and started to break out in a cold sweat. None of these symptoms arose in the past when I needed stimpacks.

"Well... I must be going. Thank you so much for helping me."

I nodded. "Yes, of course. Thank you for mending my wounds."

She smiled, and we both turned away from each other. I put a paw to my head as I walked.

"Cord! Wait!"

I froze, turning to face the girl. She ran back up to me and gestured for me to crouch down. I did as she wanted uncertainly.

"What are you-"

"I just want to give you something... so if we ever see each other again, I'll know it's you and not a wild deathclaw."

"I _am_ a wild deathclaw."

"Yes, but you didn't try to rip my throat out."

Milly had tied some kind of fabric around my neck. It was dark blue with white embroidering, but I didn't know just what it was.

"If you ever see me, say hi! I want to see you again sometime."

I smiled. "Will do."

She paused for a moment, then smiled and turned to run off.

"I need to follow this lead to my Dad! Bye, Cord!"

I waved goodbye. "So long, Milly."

T.-

I returned to the deathclaw sanctuary to rest after eating a little back at the barn. All along the way back my head was pounding. I would have eaten all the food, but my nausea outweighed my hunger.

When I got back into the cave, it was as eerily quiet at first as the day I stumbled in here in a hurry (The Enclave camp had moved on). With my eyes already adjusted to the night, I could see in the cave without a problem. I had the intention of going back out to explore come the next day, so I curled up near the door to sleep. I know I was told that my body was immune to radiation, but I still didn't like the thought of sleeping in a microwave, _especially_ after what happened the first time.

I had one of those dreams that you can remember the next morning. I dreamt I found the pre-war home of an old beer distributer, completely intact. I found the basement full of scotch, whiskey, and a few other goodies. Needless to say, I drank myself into several mini-comas in that dream until I woke up.

Having rolled over onto a rock somewhere over the night, I was fairly stiff. The cave was particularly hot that morning and it looked like rain was building up outside. Even so, I decided I'd go out anyway.

By now, the side effects I'd been suffering through courtesy of the stimpack had subsided. My bandaged wounds throbbed dully once in a while if I made the wrong move. I walked out of the Sanctuary and almost immediately bumped into another deathclaw. He partially nodded his head in my direction; the acknowledgement of "I see you, but I have nothing to say to you."

Once I was clear of the Sanctuary I started running and a light drizzle started. I ran anyway, content with the rain.

I liked the rain. It kept me cool in the humidity.

Be it the weather or luck I ran into no threats on that day. At the top of a hill I smiled.

Today was going to be a nice day.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>I have several chapters finished. It's a matter of when I decide to post them. Once I get through these, though, don't expect quick updates. I've got another story that's a higher priority than this- First come, first served. The good news is that story is only around 15 chapters long, and I'm at chapter 7. <strong>

**Dogmeat and Milly will have a big role as the story unfolds.**

**Next chapter covers something that I cannot remember.**


	4. That's The Way The World Goes 'Round

**Chapter 3**

**That's The Way The World Goes 'Round**

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><p><strong>"It's a lot more fun to play with [the sharks] than to catch them because they'll be there tomorrow. They'll be there tomorrow when you play with them."<strong>

**-Frank Mundus**

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><p>Once when I was a young boy I heard of an abandoned town to the north called "Old Olney". I use "abandoned" very loosely; no humans in their right minds go there. It was once a busy town full of life and it was as peaceful as the day is long. Of course... then the bombs dropped; Old Olney... well... the bombs won, okay?<p>

For a while the remains of that town were empty. There was once a settlement there called "New Olney". That settlement put up fences around the perimeter of the small town, but... somewhere along the line a herd of wild deathclaw moved in and gave the settlers their "walking papers"- and by that I mean they cut them into tiny pieces.

Well, I decided to check out Old Olney. There were rumors of some good loot around there. I may be able to find a portable radio; you never know!

I knew where it was. Some nice old woman named Agatha asked me to help find a violin in a Vault near it, but I couldn't find it. It also didn't help that I was still using the Five-Seven and ran out of ammunition in it (I only hit a few foes; doubt I killed any). I had to come back empty-handed.

That vault was not far off of Old Olney. It was visible on the horizon. I headed off in the general direction of the town in a sprint after relieving myself.

I saw a few humans wandering near the roads (most didn't notice me). The few that did eyed me in mute fear. None shot at me (I wasn't close enough to make them feel like I was attacking) and others stared at me with a hand on their guns. I eyed them, but made no move towards them and continued along my own chosen path, showing them I had no interest in a fight.

Some wild dogs were running towards the humans to start a fight but when they saw me not far off they turned and ran. By now it had been a month or so since my mutation, and I was becoming more experienced with my new body. However, I still didn't appreciate having to eat like 5 meals a day and I can't say I enjoy passing Tenpenny Tower; the guards like to take potshots at me.

Once when it was late at night I snuck up to the gate and put a few big slashes on it. I didn't get through, but at least I shared how I felt about being shot at. That doesn't mean they stopped.

I knew this journey would take a long time, even for me. I assumed it would take a few days. I told myself to go from Deathclaw Sanctuary to Tenpenny Tower; Tenpenny Tower to Megaton; Megaton to the valley Agatha lived in; and finally from there to Old Olney.

Naturally, I ran as fast as I could past Tenpenny Tower. While I ran, I flashed a glare at it. I can't stand Tenpenny. I've never met him, but from what I hear, he's got his nose stuck so high in the air it attracts lightning.

I was making pretty good time. By the time I got to Tenpenny Tower it was around two, and I got to Megaton by six.

When I got to Megaton, Deputy Welds (he's a robot) began shooting at me. I didn't want to make the town any madder at me (I wasn't bad; just annoying) so I ran away from the fight.

Everybody loved Deputy Welds. He fought off three attacking raiders without taking a single bullet. He was polite and upstanding to wastelanders who approached without violent intentions, but even Deputy Welds could not recognize my new form. I have to say that I was more than glad it wasn't Lucas Simms outside the gates. He would not have missed.

I ran into some mole rats near an old scrap yard a few miles from Megaton. I was starving and there was no camp for me to scavenge. I knew I could not survive simply by eating what I took from camps. Sooner or later I had to hunt, and it was looking to be sooner rather than later.

I caught one of the mole rats with ease and made death quick, then proceeded to eat. I was suprised that I was able to eat the rat raw and from the body as I did, but I was too hungry to really care what I was eating.

I wasn't suprised that I nearly reduced the mole rat to mere bones by the time I was full. I started to feel really tired after I finished eating and so I curled up to sleep again (after dragging the corpse a good distance away from where I would sleep. I'm a deathclaw, not a pig.)

As I lay down to sleep, I heard footsteps. I opened one eye to see if there was a threat.

What I saw was a human and a dog. The human put his hands out and backed away.

"Nice... easy..."

The dog growled at me and I stared at it.

"Dogmeat, shut up!" muttered the human. He didn't want to provoke me. Meanwhile, I was too comfortable to get up and I silently hoped they did not start a fight with me. We each wanted not to provoke the other.

They didn't. I was able to lay my head down and go to sleep.

-.0

It was around six in the morning when I woke up. Well, I did not wake up of my own accord. I heard a click and felt something fit snugly around my neck. I opened my eyes.

"Hey, get up."

I felt a strong kick in my ribs, but it was nothing compared to what I would have felt as a human. I let out a loud growl and was on my feet in a second.

I glared at the slaver I sent heading for the hills a week or so before.

"Heh, so you ain't completely stupid after all..."

"Leave now, or I'll kill you," I growled.

"No, you won't. See... if you try to kill me, I'll kill you. You've got a collar around your neck. You know what those do, right?"

I would have paled if I could have. I put a paw to my neck and felt the fabric (I think it was a bandana) and... what the...

"Oh, I knew I should've killed you..."

The slaver let out a snicker. "I figured it was you. Do you know how tough it is to hunt you down?"

"Why risk your own hide on the off-chance that the deathclaw you spot sleeping is the one intelligent enough to talk to you?"

"News of what you did spread quickly and I looked like a coward. Eulogy wanted to put a collar on me when I got back, but I promised to bring back something much more valuable. If it wasn't you, my life would have ended either way."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the slaver shook his head.

"You seem intelligent... so I'll give it to you straight: You are now a slave. If you don't start heading to Paradise Falls, you die. If you try to kill me, you die. If you do anything other than report to the compound... then "Boom!" goes the collar around your neck."

"And if I show my face around Paradise Falls, I'll be shot at."

"No, you won't. I made a special deal with Eulogy. You'll be fine. _If_ you cooperate, that is. Do you have any idea how much a talking deathclaw will net me?"

"Let me ask you something," I said, my booming voice enough to send a shiver down the Slaver's spine. "If I kill you before you can activate the detonator on my collar... what would happen?"

The slaver tried to look tough, and gulped. "Well... uhh... See, if you... If you kill me and don't head to Paradise Falls, you'll die!"

As much as I hated to admit it, he had me. Right now... I had to do as he asked.

I let out a deep sigh through my nose.

"Yeah... now get moving, my ugly little friend."

I ignored the smirking slaver (I wanted desperately to kill him) and started running in the direction of Paradise Falls (I've seen it before). It's not as the name implies. My definition of "Paradise" is something along the lines of "Me in a beach chair, hot girls in bikinis all around, and shot after shot of the finest whiskey until I'm so far under the table I cannot remember my own name." _La Bebeta_. That's the name of the fine whiskey I'm talking about.

I was trying to think of a way out of this whole thing. I felt hopeless. Why would I, among the many who have tried be able to find a way out of this? If I start heading in the other direction, the collar detonates. If I start moving any other way, the collar would detonate. (Not immediately; it would start beeping to warn me if I'm going too far in the wrong direction). However, it would not detonate if I changed my speed. I slowed to a walk.

No matter which way I looked at it, I was going to Paradise Falls. What I would need is to run into someone who is smart enough to get a slave collar off, but I wasn't about to swallow my pride and ask for help from a stranger. I could only hope that the collar is removed long enough for me to escape when I get there... but they don't take the collar off. My collar would come off if I was bought... and that is also only if my buyer (I don't want to say master) wishes to take it off.

While I walked, I was seen by more than a few caravans. Most were more concerned with the fact that a deathclaw was so close to them, but...

"Check it out, it's that weird deathclaw..."

"Hey, you think that's the one from not long ago?"

"From this angle, it kind of looks like there's a slave collar around his neck."

"You're stupid. Who would live long enough to get a slave collar around the neck of a deathclaw, and _why_ put a collar on a deathclaw in the first place?"

I didn't want to stick around and hear these guys, and I sure didn't want to be shot at in case some people didn't like me. I started running to Paradise Falls again.

^.0

I stopped after a bit to listen to a radio at an abandoned camp (it was not my doing). I figured that since I was going to Paradise Falls, I might as well enjoy the radio for a little bit first.

"Looks like we've got... a bit of news; just listen to this: So, children. You remember how last week I mentioned that crazy kid from 101 went missing? Right, well it turns out a small group of raiders managed to get the drop on her. It was fortunate they did, 'cause if that kid knew they were coming... that report would've been about a group of raiders gone missing. And who saved our wandering friend? GNR sources say that the raiders were found at the barn with claw marks on their bodies; clawmarks of the wasteland's most fearsome creature: The Deathclaw. Also, I'm getting reports that the Lone Wanderer was seen escaping the barn with a deathclaw, and later patching the beast up. Children, if you can tell me how it is that the girl from 101 can survive contact with a Deathclaw while Three Dog goes to war with Mole Rats, let me know. Now, some music."

I ate all the food I could find while listening to the radio. Once I was done, I got up and continued heading to Paradise Falls. I knew that slaver probably wanted me to wait for him, but I wasn't about to travel with that guy. For one thing, he can't move as fast as I can. I'm also not going to carry him, and finally I don't think I could last the several days it would take to reach Paradise Falls without taking his head off.

I felt mixed emotions while I ran. I felt anger, sadness, fear... but mostly anger. I didn't want to ever show up. I wanted somebody to save me, and I realized how helpless the slaves must feel as they head to Paradise Falls.

A part of my mind felt ashamed. I was going to be the only deathclaw slave in the wastes. The part of my mind that was mutated along with my body asks questions I cannot answer:

_"Why did you let him put that collar on you? Why did you not kill him? Humans are weak, you are strong. If you're really human under all this mutation, why are you not intelligent enough to remove that collar?"_

All too soon I saw the compound that was Paradise Falls. I approached slowly. One slaver with a rifle trained on me approached, and took his sights off me when he saw the collar. He snickered.

"So, you're that miraculous talking deathclaw Manny was jaw-jacking about?"

I said nothing.

"Huh... maybe you don't talk. Manny needs to get off the Jet."

I started breathing through my snout. I did not want to say many words. I could make that slaver look like an idiot... and might just earn my... who am I kidding?

"...well, you seem to be docile. Maybe you're not completely useless after all... though you have got to be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen next to Super Mutants and Ghouls... and some humans... huh, never mind."  
>I accidently let out a growl. The slaver's eyebrows rose. "Well... looks like you understand speech."<p>

I snorted. "Right, let's get you with the other merchandise."

I walked with the slaver through the compound to the holding pens.

"What the-"

"Oh, they can't be serious!"

"Fucking _huge_ motherfucker!"

"Wow..."

"He's scary!"

The slaver opened the gates and... he looked like he was about to shove me through the gates, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that I was 10 feet tall and weighed a few hundred pounds now, or maybe he was afraid that if he pushed me, I'd beat him to death with a truck tire.

He held himself back and said "Okay, get in".

I didn't say anything and he locked the gate. Almost immediately, the other slaves got as far away as possible. It was just as well, because I didn't want to be bothered.

"Oh, and don't kill the other slaves. It's bad for business when we lose too many."

I turned back to the others and wordlessly lay down.

I wasn't sleeping. I just felt like laying down. Even so, the others stayed far away from me. I was facing away from the gate, and a few slavers gathered behind me (from behind the gate. I don't think they'd last long against me coupled with a bunch of no-doubt pissed off slaves).

"Does it really talk?"

"Manny seemed to think so."

"It ain't saying much."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think he was on another trip. Remember how he thought the toilet was talking to him and he named it 'Potty Mouth'?"

I snorted, but the slavers didn't hear me.

"Hey, yeah! And Benny believed him."

"That's because Benny's a bigger junkie than he is."

One of them poked me with something (I think an old tire iron). I brought my head up but otherwise didn't move.

"Man... I'd hate to run into one of these things in the wastes."

"Especially with just a tire iron, yeah?"

"Even guns don't do much against one of these things."

I got poked again and rolled over, smacking the tire iron away with one of my paws. The slaver jolted back.

"Bad attitude!"

...Hey, you ever get poked by a tire iron when you're trying to relax?

"Come on, it's almost lunch and these guys ain't going anywhere."

I went to lay my head down again and one brave soul approached me. I opened one eye to see a slave eyeing me, hands on his knees. This slave looked Caucasian, but I could not say with reasonable certainty. He was covered with dirt, and his hair looked like it had once been red. The grime took care of that.

"You're pretty docile, aren't you?"

I didn't say anything.

"Maybe you should drop the act. I hid behind a rock when you attacked our slavers and heard you speak."

This time, I glanced behind me to see if any guards were near, but seeing that there were none too close, I smiled.

"Do not tell them that I can talk. I want to make the one that caught me look stupid."

The slave chuckled. "You don't need to. He does a pretty good job of that on a day to day basis."

I sighed through my nostrils. "Does that mean that I got captured by..."  
>"Yes. You were captured... by one of the stupidest slavers on the face of our scorched Earth."<p>

I let out another sigh through my nostrils. "Terrific."

"How on earth did that guy get a collar on a _deathclaw_?"

I sat up with my eyes shut. "Don't rub it in."

The slave chuckled. "Name's Carlos."

"Cord."

"Well met, Cord."

He stuck his hand out and I shook it gently.

"Huh..."

I tilted my head. "What is it?"

"Never got to touch a deathclaw before without actually dying. Sorry, your skin is..."

I chuckled. "I already know that."

Carlos inched closer to my ear. "Hey, look sharp. Medic is coming around. He's not as bad as the slavers; you can trust him. When he comes out here with his fake surgery disaster stories, it usually means something is going down. He's going to probably drop some hints in whatever he says, so listen up."

I immediately stood up and turned to the approaching doctor. He was wearing the blue doctor's cap, mask, and blood was smeared on his shirt. I couldn't see many characteristics because of what this guy was wearing.

"Hey! Any one of you seen one of the guys run by here? He's about my height, blonde hair; he's got this big open incision down the middle... See, I was in the middle of surgery, and he woke up, and he ran out before I got the chance to stitch him back up, and it's very embarrassing. Anybody see him?"

Nobody volunteered. "No? Okay, well... if you see him, send him back my way. Tell him I'll stitch him up for free, and that he won't be able to patrol tonight."

When the medic left, we had a window without the slavers in front of us. I turned my head to look down at Carlos. (The others once again stepped away from me).

"Come on, guys. He hasn't attacked anybody yet; odds are he won't anytime soon."

...Let the chatter begin.

"But he's a deathclaw!"

"Don't kill me..."

"Does he really talk?"

"He's _hideous."_

I put my paws out to try to calm the slaves. Carlos leaned in towards me. "Hey, Doc's saying there won't be a few guards patrolling tonight. That means we all can be a little more rowdy."

I was more focused on trying to keep the slaves from peeing all over themselves.

"Look, I won't hurt you," I whispered, jolting the slaves. "I promise. And what's this about me being hideous?"

The guy who said it cringed and shrunk back. "Nothing."

I smirked, and Carlos elbowed me. "Guard's coming."

I turned back to the chain link gence and glared at the passing guard. There was nothing to do, so I wandered over to one side of our little cell and lay down. It was a perfect spot for me, as it was out of reach to the guards and I knew the others wouldn't bother me (not many people are stupid enough to bother a sleeping deathclaw).

I couldn't sleep at first. More than a few of the slaves were ill from the poor conditions. I feared this sort of thing happening to me and could only hope I get bought (or sprung from the cell) before it. Maybe if I had a perfect immune system that saw every disease and battled it... then _maybe_ I'd be safe... but that's not the case. My immune system couldn't exactly be in the best condition ever since I passed out in the radiation. Granted, I was not in there long enough to actually die from radiation poisoning, and I still don't know how long I was unconscious for (wandering aimlessly in a cave and then passing out just sort of merges together in your memory).

I guess I'm trying to say that while I know my immune system was definetly harmed by the radiation, I wasn't in there long enough to completely destroy it. Besides, maybe this new form has a new immune system or something.

After a few minutes feigning sleep, I finally managed, and for the five hours I slept I was free.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>3,611 words.<strong>

**Who uses the Kindel? How lazy do you have to be to say "I need a book... but I don't wanna go all the way to the _bookstore._.. I'd rather spend a few hundred dollars on an electronic that can hold my books for me, and when it breaks, I'll be shit out of luck- but that's in the future!"**

**I know that's out of left field, but I've got nothing to say about this chapter, nor the next.**


	5. Viva La Endzone

**Chapter 4**

**Viva La Endzone**

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><p><strong>"The wicked flee when no man pursueth."<strong>

**-Proverb 28:1**

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><p>It was the third week I'd been there when we had a major rebellion. The guards quickly forgot how rare I was supposed to be. It didn't mean much when you had to feed something that had to eat near its own weight five times a day. They'd tried to skip feeding me a few meals, but I passed out without food.<p>

I swear the leader (name's Eulogy) threw a fit when he heard. He was concerned about losing me. "Without that deathclaw, we ain't going to see my caps! My precious caps! You feed him when he gets hungry or else I swear you'll all be wearing collars, and I'll make that 25,000 caps off of your combined prices! Now get out of my office!"

With my enhanced hearing, that's what I heard him say. Of course, I didn't need my heightened senses to hear it. I wouldn't be surprised if some folks in Rivet City paused, looked up, and simultaneously gasped "What the hell was _that__?"_

When there's a price on your life, you want it to be very, very expensive. To me, 25,000 caps wasn't enough. I was kind of pissed. If anything, I was worth at _least_ 27,000 caps. (Kidding).

When the slaver that caught me came back, the other guards complained to him and mocked him. "He can't talk, idiot!"

I hadn't seen him a lot during the rebellion or after. Come to think of it, I recently heard something about him on the radio. I think he's a Senator now. (Again, I kid). He _did_ try to make me talk in front of the slavers again, but I kept my mouth shut and looked at him like I were confused. It wasn't long before he gave up on trying to prove that I talked and started trying to prove that a downed telephone pole can talk. Jackass...

As the weeks passed, the others started to warm up to me. At first, they treated me like an animal (I technically was), often commenting on "how smart" I was and that I was "a good boy". After a little while, they started to treat me like I wanted to be treated: As just another human. I wondered if that was how ghouls felt. All the sane ones want is to be treated fairly, and really all I was was another human exposed to radiation and a bunch of variables.

I was actually sold once before to a wealthy fellow, but I got out of being his slave. I started poking him with one claw, and when he turned to me to see what I wanted, I just kept poking him. He threatened to have me killed, but I knew he was bluffing. Why kill the slave that cost him 25,000 caps? Oh, once I was done with that, he had this portable radio and it was tuned to the Enclave station, so I hit a button and turned it to some old Chinese Army Loop. He grumbled and changed it back, and I changed it again.

"Stop!"

Oh, it was around there that I put the finishing touches on. I licked the back of his head like a dog and started panting. He eyed me in horror.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

I obviously didn't respond, but you have no idea how hard it was to not laugh. This was the most fun I've had since the Nuka-Cola and Mentats thing that got me banned from Craterside Supply.

We hadn't even gotten more than a few miles off Paradise Falls before I made an ass of myself. Needless to say, we turned around. When he demanded his caps back, Eulogy looked at him like he were speaking a foreign language. (I did much more in the "acting like a dog" field, but I'll omit that part. It's one of those things that you do if you don't want to be a slave, but you never speak of it again after it's done. And don't guess. Odds are, you're going to come up with something disgusting that I'm actually not talking about. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

"Why? This is a fine piece of merchandise you've purchased."

"I do not need to explain 'why' to you! I demand a refund!"

"What's wrong with him?"

This whole time I was sitting on my haunches with my tongue lolling out of my mouth and my tail wagging back and forth whilst thinking _"I hate myself"_ over and over again.

"Look at him! He's an idiot!"

"He's a deathclaw. That surprises you?"

It took a lot to scare Eulogy. I mean it. If he were alive when the bombs dropped, I don't think he would've flinched. This guy, though... the glare he gave the little shit made him shrink back.

"I. Want. My. Money. Back."

Eulogy quickly regained his composure and sighed.

"Very well. We'll refund you. Or you can use that money to buy a bunch of other slaves." (Eulogy never refunds unless it's a very expensive life he's selling.)

"Give me my money back! For all I know, those slaves are just as stupid as he is!"

"Our other slaves aren't deathclaws-"  
>"I don't care!"<p>

The argument went on like that. When they put me back in the pen I was my normal-ish self again. I'm sure the others knew I was screwing with them.

The others later asked me what I did to be returned. I shrugged. "Must've been something I said."

Well, it had been around that week that the other slaves tried boldly to escape. Carlos tried to talk them out of it, but they were under the idea that anything was better than slavery. It's true, but... I knew there was no way out. I wasn't smart enough to remove my collar as a human, and I definitely couldn't do it now. Instead of participating, Carlos, myself, and a few other slaves stayed put and let the bunch try to escape.

To their credit, they got further than any of us thought they would. They even managed to kill a few of the guards with contraband and sheer luck. Ultimately, one guy with a minigun mowed most of them down, and the few that escaped it had their heads pop like zits when they ventured too far from this little slice of Hell. I heard the collars explode, and I heard some gurgling. It was probably quick and painless. You can't feel much pain when the control center of the body turns into a firework.

Even though the rest of the slave population (again, myself included) had nothing to do with the escape plan, the guards opened the gates and ordered us to the ground. I didn't want to comply so I picked the worst of all times to struggle.

"The 'claw won't lie down."

"So shoot it!" said one of the guards. The guard aiming his assault rifle at me turned his head to look at the one who just spoke.

"Yeah, right! Eulogy would have my head!"

"Well, how are we supposed to subdue it?"

As I listened to their exchange I felt someone jump onto my back. It was a third slaver. "Get. Down. Beastie!"

The slaver on my back didn't really throw me off balance as he would've if I were a human. I turned my head partially towards the slaver and growled. He bashed my back with a pipe and for a moment I was dazed. Once I regained myself I leapt backwards, trapping the slaver between the wall behind me and the spikes on my back. The other slavers pointed their guns at me.

"Don't shoot him! He can't _go_ anywhere!" said one slaver from a distance. One of the slavers turned his head in the other's direction.

"You think I was gonna _shoot _him?"  
>"You all better be really good or else he ain't going down on the first shots. He'll take most of you out before he goes down!"<p>

The slaver on my back was struggling. I leaned back harder and I heard some cracking and coughing.

"Shouldn't have climbed on my back," I whispered. I could feel him tense up and try to say something, but he only started hacking up blood. As he coughed, he couldn't inhale. I could tell. Eventually he stopped struggling, but I knew he wasn't dead yet.

Around that point Eulogy came out with something in his hand. He walked right to me and poked me with whatever was in his hand.

I didn't expect that cattle prod to pack the punch it did. The initial shock hurt like you would not believe, but after that it felt like water was rushing under my skin. My muscles were butter and I fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably for a few moments. I could feel consciousness fading away.

"There we go. Good boy. Get this guy off his back and to the infirmary."

"What about the 'claw, Eulogy?"

He looked down at me. "Send him over to Endzone for a few days. We'll see just how rebellious he feels after that."

With that, consciousness left me.

I remember regaining consciousness a few times. I was being dragged along on something, but I couldn't tell what. I heard the guards saying things here and there, mostly about Three Dog's "Lone Wanderer", but I couldn't hold onto consciousness as I was being transported.

When my consciousness came back to me completely, I was sitting in an upright position in some kind of building and I felt something rubbing against the spot on my back that the guard hit me. I turned my head partially to see another slave rubbing a wet towel on the injured part of my back. She caught me eyeing her and smiled.

"Don't worry. You're going to be okay."

I put a paw to my head. "Where am I?"

She paused what she was doing, but resumed again with a chuckle. "Well, how about that? You _do_ speak... And to answer your question, you're in Endzone."

"Endzone?"

She sighed. "It's the place where all bad slaves go. Here we have a guard come in once in a while. He'll only feed us once every few days and he does not let us sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. Sometimes slaves have to fight for their lives against captured feral ghouls. Eulogy puts slaves here for either only a few days, or until that slave is too broken down to resist anymore."

I turned my head partially. "How long have you been here?"

"I don't know anymore. Days... weeks... months... maybe even years. The punishment makes you forget time."

"How long are you and I going to be here?"

"Until Eulogy decides to let us out."

I sighed, and tried to stand. The slave put a hand on my chest to keep me sitting.

"He hit you with a modified cattle prod. It's like a regular one, but with much more punch. It would probably kill a human." (Bull crap. If it could kill a human, the current would've passed through me and into the guard on my back... but his fate was unknown to me at the time).

"How did he get you in here?"

"I went willingly when I saw my struggling wasn't going to help. I'm not an idiot, you know?"

I shrunk down a little. "Yeah..."

"Anyway, my name is Caterina. Do you have a name?"

"Cord."

She finished what she was doing and I turned to face her. "Hi, Cord."

We were silent for a moment before she giggled. "You were mumbling some weird stuff before you came to. You're lucky the guards didn't catch you. From what I've heard, you're hiding your voice from them."

I nodded. "What did I say?"

"Oh... you were talking about how you thought John Henry Eden should be renamed John Henry Asshole, you started talking about pissing on Eulogy Jones' grave, and then you started talking about being a human."

I jolted.

"What did I say about being human?"

She smiled. "You were saying that you wished you were still human; maybe you wouldn't be worth so much to Eulogy then. I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be rare. If you weren't, he'd have killed you for disobeying the guards earlier... but what does "still human" mean?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

She giggled. "You're a weird deathclaw, Cord."

"I talk. That should've been what gave you the idea."

She shushed me, and a moment later the guard walked in. He made sure we were awake.

"Sorry, guys. Wish I could let you sleep. Hell, if I had say in the matter, you'd be free."

I didn't buy it. I thought he was trying to get me to say something. Caterina elbowed me. "He's a good guy. He's only here because Eulogy nabbed his sister and he's been trying to figure out where she went."

I turned my head to her and she seemed to know what I was thinking.

"He must've gotten Endzone duty recently. I remember him a lot patrolling the main holding cell."

"I snuck you guys some water."

With that, he put a few bottles of old water on the ground for us and left. It was then that I started to look around this "Endzone" a little more.

The cell we were in had walls, not chain-link fences. There was only one door, no mattresses, and the bathroom was all around us, or at least it smelled that way.

Caterina started drinking one of the bottles and poured another into a dog bowl.

"Sorry, Cord."

I didn't really care. I needed to drink something, and that meant the water with metals, radiation particles, and other potential hazards sitting in the bowl before me. It didn't even give the illusion of being clean like some water might. This water was... brown, and I could see pieces of metal in it. It was the water most wastelanders grew up drinking. Sometimes you could get purified water... and it tastes so different. I had the chance to drink purified water before- I choked on it. 18 years of drinking this sewage-like crap makes you start to get used to the dirty water. It also turns your liver into a hunk of asphalt and you might start to pee blood.

I grew up using a makeshift water filter. It didn't filter out everything, but it protected me from most metals. If I had enough money, there was a very good one that was once for sale. It could remove all trace metals and most radiation particles. Of course... the thing cost an arm and a leg. There was no way I could buy it.

I didn't have my makeshift filter anymore, clearly. Now, my survival on most water I drink is because of my form. I still don't think I'd exactly live a full life on dirty water, though. I'll probably die of old age and fear at 24. This is one of the pluses to being a Wastelander and not a Vault-Dweller: You're already used to drinking the irradiated shit. Vault-Dwellers tend to puke it back up.

I remember there was this one Vault-Dweller came into Megaton, drank his first bottle of irradiated water... didn't puke, didn't shiver... didn't gasp. He finished it, and walked out. That was one tough son of a gun!

When I finished my water I sighed.

"How does your back feel?" asked Caterina. Come to think of it, she was the only slave in Endzone other than I.

"It's fine. I just can't help but think of how close we all are to freedom."

She inched closer to me. "Some slaves forget they have collars, or they think that the collar is fake; that the worst cannot happen. They try to escape, but the collar's always real."

I started biting on one of my nails (a habit I'd picked up not long after my mutation), feeling pretty cooped up. I decided to wander around the cell a little bit, much to Caterina's amusement.

"Getting antsy? There isn't much to do here, but at least you're not alone. Let's chat."

I was really starting to like this girl. She treated me like a human right off the bat instead of saying things like "Wow, you're such a smart boy!"

"About what?" I asked. She grinned and sat on the dirty floor.

"Anything that isn't about slavery."

"Okay... family. Do you have family?" I asked. Slavery was kind of the main topic. Ignoring it is like ignoring the big old elephant in the room.

"I have my parents, but I'm an only child. My parents live in Tenpenny Tower."

I growled. "The Tenpenny guards like to shoot at me. Do they know you're... here?"

She sighed. "Probably. I wouldn't be suprised if my mother was here at the camp observing me. Like Satan, she can take many forms."

I let out a snort. This girl was so much like Kastine. The only difference was she seemed... nicer.

"What about you? Do... do deathclaws stick with family?"

During the weeks before my capture, I'd go back to the Sanctuary to rest. Kastine and I got close-ish (you can only get so close to a creature that busts your chops endlessly). We actually became very good friends, though you'd never be able to tell unless you were very close to either of us. When I met her mother...

...well, I don't know if all deathclaw treat parents like that or if it's just Kastine. They shared a mutual distaste. I asked her about her father once.

"He's dead," she said plainly.

"Oh... I'm sorry," I said.

"Happens when you're constantly in close proximity to _that _bloodsucking bitch."

I had to agree with her. Kastine's mother made raiders and Talon Company Mercs look like Saints.

It was around that point that I realized I was asked a question. Thankfully I'd only been lost in thought for a few moments, so no harm done. I decided to wing it and shook my head.

"Not particularly. You hatch, you get raised by Mom for a few months, then you're on your own."

"Sounds rough."

"It's not like growing up in the wasteland at all is easy... with the exception of Tenpenny Tower. Did you grow up there?" I asked.

"Yep!"

"Why on Earth would you leave that safe haven?" I asked. She held her hands out in front of her.

"Hmm... risk my life in the wastes... wait for my mother to rip my still-beating heart out... wastes... mother... wastes..."

"I get it. So... what will you do when you get out of here?"

"Stop. Don't bother trying to give me hope. Odds of someone freeing us from this place and removing our collars are slim to none."

I was silent, and let her continue.

"The only way I'm getting out of here is with my buyer. Sorry to say, the same goes for you."

She decided now to sit by my side and feigned a smile.

"I kind of wish I stayed with my Mom."

To say that I always had this undying hope for rescue would be false. There were times that I wanted to die. The only things that kept me going in Endzone were this girl and the assumption that I could not be bought while in it. When I felt all was lost in the main holding cell, one of the slaves would end up reassuring me (not intentionally). Once as I felt ready to break down, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a slave dealing a deck of cards he'd snuck into the cell.

"How about it, Carlos? You hit or you sit? Hit or sit? Hit. Or. Sit?"

There was something about watching this man play blackjack with half of a deck of partially burnt cards. Something about it reminded me that life, like blackjack, is unpredictable.

Alright, that's a bunch of shit. It _was_ comforting, though.

Still, that card-dealing man wasn't in Endzone to reassure me. All I had in here was Caterina. While we were only acquaintences, we became friends quickly. That's the one good thing about Endzone: You make friends really fast.

The only way to tell when night fell was to look through the cracks and crevices in the building that made up Endzone. I got tired and decided to go to sleep, but... I don't think I was asleep for very long. A guard came in (Caterina told me I'd been out for about 15 minutes) and woke me.

"Get up, 'claw. Can't sleep unless one of us says so."

I almost said 'bite me', but knew that I'd be making the guards aware that I can talk. I have to say I'm suprised the other slaves never dropped the ball and let them know.

"Anyway, Eulogy wants to see if you're any good at fighting. He's worried you might be _too_ docile, if you catch my drift. He thinks you were just lucky when you managed to kill the slavers in the wastes."

My eyes widened briefly, but I remembered that idiot who enslaved me mentioning returning here after I killed his buddies. Anyway, in a sense I _was_ lucky that day. The slavers were really bad with guns, and my slaver's gun even broke when I approached him.

"Come on! Let's go!"

The slaver kicked me and I let out a low growl. He shrunk back a little.

"Let's go... please?"

I snorted, and followed the slaver. I remembered hearing that Eulogy set up fights with feral ghouls. If that's the case, this wasn't going to be a problem.

-.-

I was fighting for my life. I had open wounds and gashes all over my body and it was becoming difficult to stand. I was seeing double, my head was pounding, and I leapt out of the way of another attack.

I overheard Eulogy complaining about the guy I crushed on my back. Appearantly he did not survive his injuries, and Eulogy was a little more than peeved that I cost him a slaver. I guess this was his way of getting back at me. Asshole...

I let out a roar and a cough and stumbled towards my opponent, but he simply dodged my sloppy attack and slashed at me in return. That isn't to say that I never managed a single strike. There were a few scratches on this foe.

"This is pathetic. If this deathclaw can't even take one of its own kind, I hate to see how it would defend its master against a few super mutants. If the master gets hurt, I bet I have to come up with a refund."

I should probably explain something. Since the first days I was in that slave camp, Eulogy had been sending slaver after slaver to the Deathclaw Sanctuary. After losing around 20, they managed to come back with one deathclaw (another male). They slapped a collar on it while it was unconscious. How they actually got it unconscious and back to the compound is beyond me. Maybe he suffered the same fate as I. All I know is... he was cursing at me and trying to kill me right now.

He was really pissed. It looked like he was blaming me for what was going on. I was going to speak to him, but after going so long without having to speak to another deathclaw, I sort of... forgot how to speak in... deathclaw...inese... shut up. If I weren't in the process of bleeding out, I would remember!

My ignoring him didn't do much to quell his anger.

Eulogy threw his cattle prod at the other deathclaw and it went down like a bad habit. I was bleeding out on the ground, I no longer had any feeling in my extremities, I was nauseous, and I was losing consciousness. Eulogy ordered the slavers to drag me to the center of his compound.

"He's more trouble than he's worth. Execute him. Wait until he opens his eyes, though. I want him to see it coming."

_He's right. You're nothing but a pathetic excuse for a deathclaw. You deserve to die childless, for any child you father would be as sorry an excuse for a deathclaw as you._

With my primitive mind's lecture, I lost consciousness.

-.0

When my eyes opened again, I was bound to some kind of pole. The collar was still on my neck, I was standing on piles of wood reeking of vodka, and the slaves were staring at me from behind their little gated-off community. Caterina was in the crowd, too. I guess Eulogy wanted everybody to see this.

I started to panic as my senses returned (well, they returned _somewhat_). My feet shuffled, my tail swished, and my breathing was ragged. I saw the slaver who captured me clutching a lit torch, and I let out a roar so loud it shook the stake I was tied to.

The slavers even took steps back and I could smell sadness on the slaves, like they were upset with my upcoming death.

I let out loud roars here and there and a howl. The slavers were glaring at me, waiting for me to finish. As it turns out, there were only a few here (including Eulogy).

The slaver with the torch got closer, and my eyes widened for a moment before shutting as I sighed. So... this was it? I was going to die in this form with no idea how to return to my old form...

There was a loud gunshot and I tensed up, thinking they tried shooting me to make me feel more pain, but I heard a loud groan and return fire.

I opened my eyes and saw a big old dog (the one I saw the night before I got captured) mauling one of the slavers. The others were shooting back at someone I couldn't see just yet, but they were falling very, _very_ quickly. I looked at Eulogy and saw him backing away from the gunfight. The dog... didn't let him get very far.

Before Eulogy could make a move to defend himself, the dog had him on the ground. He was snarling and growling at Eulogy's face.

_"Don't move, human!"_

I looked around. What the hell was _that_?

The gunfight was over quickly, and I saw my savior for the first time. Well... technically, it wasn't my first time seeing her.

"Woah, Dogmeat! Don't kill him yet."

The dog turned his head to look at Milly.

_"Please?"_

"Come on, down boy."

_"Man..."_

Alright, it didn't take me much more than that to figure out the other voice was the dog. The one thing that was really bothering me was... I wasn't going to be conscious much longer. I could tell.

Milly didn't approach me just yet, and "Dogmeat" was glaring at Eulogy. She first unlocked the slave pen, and then went to Eulogy with a zip-tie. He was bound and stripped of keys, money... everything except the clothes on his back. Even they were too good for that pile of manure.

My head felt like it was underwater. I couldn't feel the wood under my feet anymore, my heart was beating _very_ slowly in my ears, and standing was becoming difficult. The primitive part of my mind was lecturing me for appearing weak.

It was around then that Milly approached- as did Caterina. The latter unbound my paws and I fell to my knees.

"Oh, my good Lord! Cord? Is that you?"

I nodded while snorting on the ground. "Hi... Milly..."

_"You know this deathclaw, Mil?"_

"Hush, Dogmeat. Cord, what on Earth-"

"There's no time! We need to get out of here before more of those bastards show up," said Caterina.

Milly nodded. I took a deep breath, trying to stay conscious. Milly patted my arm.

"Hey, hang in there, Cord. Let's get out of here and I'll treat you, okay?"

I didn't respond. Milly took my swaying as the response.

_"Hey... don't pass out. I don't want to have to help drag you out of here, deathclaw."_

I didn't respond to the dog. Milly approached the slaves.

"Are any of you smart enough to disarm slave collars?"

Carlos came forward. "I can when I can see what I'm doing. If you disarm mine, I'll get the rest."

I saw her run to him, but then my vision failed and I fell to the ground. Even now, there's this blank spot in my mind. I can't remember any of what happened during the few minutes I was out.

I remember being smacked around by Caterina and Milly, though. The dog was standing next to me nudging me with his snout. I woke up again. When my eyes adjusted, I sat up and saw the slaves being freed. I also felt... freer around my neck. I put a paw to it, and Milly smiled and held up my deactivated and detached collar. It had been holding down my bandana, and it was still tied around my neck. I glanced at Eulogy and saw him being taken away by the slaves. I wondered what his fate would be, but Milly interrupted my thinking.

"Come on! We need to get to a safe distance before I can treat you, Cord. Let's go!"

I wordlessly stood up and started running at the speed of the two human girls. With my wounds coagulated, it was easier to move around. I still knew I was in danger of dying. My adrenaline kept me going, though. Even with the odds stacked against me, I managed.

We weren't moving fast enough and I was still afraid that I'd pass out at any moment. I chose to pick up Milly and Caterina before running faster. I kept at pace with the dog, which was a lot faster than the two girls.

Nobody said anything until we were near Tenpenny Tower. I turned and Dogmatt- _Dogmeat_ followed.

I don't know how long we were on the move for, but I knew I was going to collapse soon. I didn't want to be a few hundred pounds of dead weight caught on top of Three Dog's "Lone Wanderer" and a slave whose Mom could be the messenger of Satan.

When we finally stopped, I set them down (half-dropped them) and fell myself. Many of my wounds were bleeding again. I didn't know how much longer I could last with this level of blood loss.

As soon as she was set up, Milly set to work on treating me. She tended to one gash at a time while Caterina was petting Dogmeat.

"What can I do, miss?" she asked. Milly held a pistol out to her without looking up.

"Can you shoot?" she asked. Caterina nodded.

"I'm-"

Again, consciousness finally failed me.

-.-

My head was pounding when I woke up, and I could smell smoke, meat cooking, and the strong smell of alcohol. I cringed at the odor. It wasn't the alcohol you drink (well, you could... if you wanted to die). Rather, it was the kind you find in medicine.

I could also hear Milly and Caterina chatting. (Also the dog was panting). When I opened my eyes, I put a hand to my neck to be sure. When I did, I smiled weakly. My head was pounding, my body ached, my nose burned, but I was _free._ I let out a snort and sat up (despite protests from my body).

_"Hey, lay back down. You still stink of death."_

I looked at the dog (the expression on his face was one of almost... amusement).

"Hey, Cord! Lay back down, would you?"

I looked at the two human girls. "Uhh..."

Milly made a movement with her hand. "Come on! Lay down or you're going to pass out!"

I reluctantly lay back, groaning a little. Milly came to my side and dabbed one of my wounds with a cloth. I watched as she tended to my wound.

"I gave you a stimpack to help counter possible infection."

_"And you let out a whimper when she injected you. Pansy."_

I glared at the dog. I expected him to whimper and shrink back, but he returned my glare with one of his own. That dog had _balls_.

"Are you okay? You look angry," said Milly. I nodded (which didn't help my headache).

"I'm fine. Caterina, what are you going to do now? Where will you go now that you're free?" I asked. She looked in the direction of Tenpenny Tower (we could see it).

"I figure I'll go to that monument of Tenpenny's self-satisfaction and have the life sucked out of me by Vlad the Impaler- I mean, my _mother._"

Milly giggled.

"Well, it's about time that I head back there. You guys going to be okay on your own?" asked Caterina. Milly nodded.

"I can handle myself."

"I can... watch her handle herself," I muttered, looking down at the various bandaged wounds on my chest. The dog snorted.

_"And the score is tied 1-1 between the deathclaw and my human."_

"Okay. Hey, come visit sometime. I'll try to convince the guards to let... who am I kidding..."

Milly smiled. "I'll ask for you and we all can meet up someday. Take care of yourself, Caterina."

"Yes, good luck to you," I said. With that, Caterina ran off.

Milly turned to look at me after a few moments. "So, you mind telling me why those idiots had a deathclaw as a slave?"

I decided to lie.

"One of them knocked me unconscious and slipped a collar on me. I scared him off once before, and he heard me talk... then he came back and wanted me as a slave."

"And they were trying to kill you because...?"

I smiled. "Appearantly I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

Milly giggled. "Aww... nobody bought you?"

"One guy did, but he took me back after a few hours."

"Why?"

I chuckled a little bit at the memory. "...No reason."

"Did you kill him?"

I shook my head.

"Scare him?"

I shook my head again.

"Get him mad?"

I started to shake my head, but slowly nodded. "He was reasonably pissed off, yes."

She was about to ask something else, but I beat her to it.

"Milly, how's the search for your Dad going?" I asked. She grinned.

"I got a lead that says he was heading towards this place called "Smith Casey's Garage". I just need to find out where it is..."

"I know where it is," I offerred. She eyed me.

"Really?"

I nodded. "I could take you if you'd like," I said. She lit up.

"Oh, would you? That would be great, Cord!"

_"Guess you aren't completely useless after all, deathclaw..."_

"I've heard that before, _Dogmutt."_

The dog growled. _"It's 'Dogmeat'. Get it right."_

"I have a name, too. Get mine right."

"Umm...? What are you talking about?"

_"I'm sorry? I couldn't hear you. The sound of your whimpering as my human gave you a shot is rushing through my head."_

I held up my paw and clicked my claws together. "You want me to run something else through your head, you mangy little mistake?"

_"Come over here and say that!"_

I went to get up but Milly pushed me down.

_"You're a failure."_

"So was your Mother's abortion."

"Woah! What's going on... oh, wait... you're both animals... are you competing?"

I growled. "Something like that."

_"Your damned deathclaw is pissing me off, Mil!"_

We were practically at each others throats. As we glared at one another, I suddenly realized how stupid I must have looked and relented. The dog did the same and snorted. I clicked my claws together again.

"I'll stick these claws where the sun don't shine, mutt."

Dogmeat glared at me for a minute, but his look softened.

_"Fine, if Mil can tolerate you, I guess I can. You and I are going to either become enemies or best friends."_

I nodded. "Indeed."

"Indeed what?" asked Milly, now throroughly confused. "Are you talking to my dog?"

I nodded. "We met outside a scrap yard once."  
>"The one not far off Minefield?"<p>

"The very same. All I got out of him was a growl, though. Thought you were with a male human, Dogmush."

_"He went and got himself killed,"_ replied Dogmeat. He whined. _"I liked him... stupid raiders."_

"Sorry, but it isn't like death is rare out here."

_"I know, I know... Are you going to make yourself useful or not?"_

I turned my head to Milly. "Want me to get you to your Dad now?" She shook her head.

"I'm exhausted from Paradise Falls. You have no idea how hard it is to make someone using a minigun eat a bullet."

I snorted. "I imagine. Why liberate the slaves at Paradise Falls? I'm grateful and all... I owe you my life... but... why?"

She smiled. "Why liberate a slave compound? It was there. That's why. No, tomorrow we'll start heading for Smith Casey's Garage, is that alright?"

"Sounds fine to me, how's it sound to you, Dogshit?"

_"You seem awfully confident that I won't rip your throat out while you sleep."_

"You had a chance to do that while I was unconscious, and you didn't."

Dogmeat snorted and lay his head back down. Milly told me to eat something (she put out a few pieces of food for me. I was ravenous, but I had to control myself). What I _did_ get to eat took the edge off my hunger. I'd live. After she had me eat, she told me to rest again, so that's what I did. I lay back, and Milly got situated for sleep, too. I sat up, wondering what we would do for defense. Essentially, we were in the middle of the wastes. The world's best gunslinger wouldn't last long when caught sleeping.  
>"Do you want me to watch for hostile travellers?" I asked. She shook her head.<p>

"Dogmeat's got very good hearing, as do I. From what I've gathered, deathclaws have decent hearing, too."

All of my senses were a little better. I didn't have one weak sense and several strong ones (some deathclaws have milky white eyes and find it hard to see. Kastine's mother had that problem). There's a reason deathclaws are considered some of the most dangerous things in the wastes. They have no weak senses.

...In fact, my hearing _did_ save me once. The problem is, sometimes I end up sleeping the sleep of the dead, as was the case when I got captured by that idiot slaver.

Against my better judgement, I closed my eyes. I smiled to myself. Still I ached, still my head pounded... still I was hurting... but there were three words I kept repeating to myself until I fell asleep:

I am free.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>6,521 words.<strong>

**Turns out last chapter was the last one I had fully completed. This one wasn't done yet. Odds are, you won't see many more updates to this until I finish We Shall Be Together in Paradise. Oh, and it turns out there's only 10 chapters in it, not 15. I'm up to 7. Once I stop procrastinating, I'll finish and get back to this one regularly.**

**I originally intended for Cord's detention to last a few more chapters, but I ran out of ideas so I busted him out early. You're welcome, Cord.**

**See where I'm going with this one yet?**

**Next chapter comes up in the year AD 666. Excuse me while I build my time machine.**


	6. Herrikayne koming!

**You've probably heard by now about a hurricane coming up the Eastern Coast of the US. By what I've seen, it's projected path has changed slightly, putting it further out at sea than anticipated.**

**By the time it hits the Carolinas, Irene is estimated to be a Category 3 hurricane. As it travels north-east, it'll lose power, becoming a Category 2, and finally a Category 1 hurricane as it hits Maine.**

**I'm in the projected path of the hurricane, but I'll not specify where that is. I mention it because I'm expecting a power-outage and loss of internet. I'm not a genius, but I think that internet is controlled via satellites. As the signal reaches the ground, we get... internet. With cloud cover as thick as what I'm expecting from the Hurricane, I don't think I'll be updating much until it blows over. I'm still working on the next chapter for We Shall Be Together In Paradise, and I've thrown a few days towards Beneath This Gruff Exterior. **

**Don't expect updates from me until this blows over. It's not here yet, so we'll see what I can get done before Hurricane Makes-Me-Irate hits.**

**And remember: It doesn't matter what your political beliefs are. Support Al Gore's long-term strategy for spreading ManBearPig awareness.**


	7. Chaotic Lane

**Chapter 5**

**Chaotic Lane**

* * *

><p><strong>"Ask the doctor if you have irritable bowel syndrome because you're a pain in the ass."<strong>

**-Anonymous**

* * *

><p>By morning, my aches and pains were worsening, but I was out of the woods. Deathclaws don't often die of infections, but considering how radiation tends to make immune systems go away, I was worried. Milly must've sensed my worry, since she offered to check my wounds for me. She gave me the all clear. Dogmeat was still asleep. (It was the butt-crack of dawn.)<p>

"You're okay, you big baby," she said jokingly. I smiled.

"You're one of the only people that can get away with saying that to me."

"Ooh, special treatment?"

"You saved my life."

"And you saved mine. Call it even."

I stared at her. "Fine. No special treatment for you."

She giggled, and looked over at Dogmeat.

"When did you find him?" I asked. She sighed.

"I was walking to Minefield to check something out for some lady and bumped into a scrapyard. He was fighting three raiders. His owner was already dead, so I helped him kill the raiders. We've been together ever since."

She looked over at Dogmeat's sleeping form.

"He's very strong. I think he's got some kind of mutation that gives him an increased tolerance for pain. Either that, or he's a cyborg and I don't know it."

I mentally kick myself whenever I hear the word "Mutation" now. Stupid Enclave...

"Anyway, let's have a quick breakfast. You and Dogmeat seem to tire of each others' company fairly quickly, so I'll wake him."

I smiled. She moved over a little to get closer to Dogmeat and gently nudged him awake with her hand.

"Hey, buddy... Hey, wake up."

_"Hnrgh... What is it, Mil?"_

"Morning, Dogmites."

He looked over at me sleepily.

_"Thought I dreamt you."_

I smirked. "You're not that lucky."

"Hey, listen buddy... we're going to have a quick bite to eat and then leave to find my Dad."

_"Or what's left of him."_

"Hey..." I mumbled. Dogmeat looked at me. It was around then that I noticed something strange: One eye was blue and the other was brown.

"_You, of all creatures, should know by now that death is a near certainty out here. I just don't want her to get her hopes up."_

"Sometimes it's appropriate," I said, beating around the fact that Dogmeat just implied his master's Dad is dead. He let out a grunt.

"_Maybe you're right. I'm just saying."_

"What did he say?" asked Milly.

"He said eating quickly isn't the best idea, as you can get cramps afterwards," I said. I didn't want her to think anything negative about Dogmeat or I, especially since she can probably kill both of us, so I threw something together on the spot.

Yeah, not smart, but quick!

From what I saw (or heard) at the Slave Camp, Milly was excellent with guns and medicine. She also seemed to be very smart, likely from her upbringing in a vault. She still bought what I said. What else could she go by?

"Oh, well, sometimes it's appropriate... like when danger can be lurking in any nook."

Dogmeat eyed me. _"Thanks for not ratting my negativity out."_

I didn't acknowledge him, for fear of another question. He understood.

Milly was low on supplies. I offered to hunt, but she said no; that my wounds could open up again. That was her excuse, but I think it's because she doesn't like asking for or accepting help. She'll do it, but if there's a chance that we'll run across some supplies later, the answer is "No".

Besides, if she were concerned that my wounds would open, she wouldn't have accepted my offer to take her to Smith Casey's Garage, would she?

I've been there before on a few scavenging trips. I went in once, but Mole Rats inside deterred me. They used to freak me out, but typically they don't attack humans unless they're absolutely nutty from hunger.

Even so, I still didn't like them as a human. Now, I eat them. Humans do, too... but they focus on the taste of the meat. It's pretty bitter, but I'd eat a truck tire if I were starving; human, deathclaw... it wouldn't matter. Thank everything that I've got a high metabolism. Overweight people/animals don't last long in the Capital Wastes.

What we did have did little to curb my hunger, and I doubt it did anything for Milly or Dogmeat, either. Still, I bit my tongue (I actually did. Hurts like hell with teeth as sharp as what I've got now). I told her that Smith Casey's Garage probably had some stuff worth scavenging left over. It did, last I checked. Then again, that was several months ago.

Once we finished eating whatever we could find, I offered her a ride on my back. She politely said no.

"You sure? I can probably cut the trip in half," I said. (Provided there was nothing in my way. I was still having a little trouble with leaping in this form.)

She thought for a minute.

"I really don't mind," I said. I didn't. See, we had to pass Tenpenny Tower in order to get to Smith Casey's Garage, and I wanted to get past it really fast. I mean, _really_ fast- like 10 minutes ago fast. The idiot the Tower is named after is rumored to occasionally go out on his balcony and shoot stuff with a Dragunov. We'd be running at the perfect distance for him to shoot.

I know I'm not a human anymore, but he made me hate my own species when I was.

Milly accepted my offer and I got down for her to climb on my back.

"Try to position yourself away from the spikes. I killed a slaver once with them plus weight."

_"You do the same to my human, and I'm going to rip your throat out,"_ warned Dogmeat. While he tried to dress up his threats and seem tough, I could tell he really loved Milly. It was around here that the primitive part of my mind started complaining again.

_What is this? What are you, this human's pet? Your strength is wasted on this pathetic venture._

I did what I do best: I didn't listen.

"Hold on tight," I instructed. She did as I said, and we were off. I could smell anxiety on her, but then again it was on me, too. I was just waiting to hear a gunshot and then have everything go blank, or worse... if it hit the girl I was carrying, as Dogmeat would gut me... and if it hit _Dogmeat..._ then Milly would probably make a beeline for Tenpenny Tower and kill everyone inside. She was sweet as sugar, but if you wronged her, or were bad...

She can intimidate Yao Guai, as we were passing a few. They typically go after humans, and they'll go after deathclaws, too. Kastine once mentioned that Yao Guai and Deathclaw are always going at it. It's like cats and dogs. (Deathclaws usually win). Still, there must've been something about her- some kind of look, or an aura she was giving off. Whatever it was, it kept Yao Guai a good 50 feet from us at all times. If only raiders and other assholes could be as smart as those creatures. They say that everybody has a few things they are good at. In Milly's case, those few things were things of the medical, self defense, and scientific variety.

She also had a few weaknesses, though. For one thing, she'd do anything for her Dad, which... out in the wastes can get you killed. For another, she's not very sneaky, which... out in the wastes can get you killed, and she trips over herself sometimes while talking, which... you get the picture.

Some humans want to train deathclaws to protect them. I was glad that Milly was around to protect _me._ Her power combined with Dogmeat's... it would take a nuclear apocalypse to take her down (get it?).

Running was relatively easy for me as it wasn't the heat of the day yet. Milly was... for the most part, terrified, Dogmeat was watching me while we ran to make sure I didn't try to hurt her (I think Dogmeat can kick my ass even now), and I was wondering how strange it had to look to see a human girl on the back of a Deathclaw.

I cringed while running. What if some poor idiot saw us, and tried to do the same with a, shall we say, "less-than-tame" deathclaw? I just know that would somehow end up to be _my_ fault.

We were running for about an hour before Milly asked me to stop for a second. I did as she asked and knelt for her to get down.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She shushed me and got low (I did the same).

"Look ahead, at that burned out house; second floor, window on the far left."

I squinted, and saw what she was talking about. There was this old pre-war house that was burned out, but still standing. I didn't see anything noteworthy about the window, especially since it was pretty far off.

"What about it?" I whispered. She pointed again.

"Do you see that? Something's reflecting light from it. Can you smell any raiders, Cord?"

I snorted in the air for a few moments, but I couldn't pick anything up. The wind was carrying any scents away from us. I looked at Dogmeat and he shook his head.

_"I smell nothing."_

"Wind's carrying scent away from us. What do you think is up there?"

"Probably a sniper. We can either try to go around, or take them out, but if we just go around, we're passing up a possibility to resupply."

"You're not carrying a sniper rifle," I pointed out. She smiled.

"I know, but I've got a .44 Magnum, scoped."

The .44 Magnum is a very powerful gun. I read in a pre-war book once that a .44 could take down an elephant. If the person shooting was accurate. I, as we've established, am not. If I was, I wouldn't be a deathclaw paying off a debt to Clint Eastwood here, would I? (He's some pre-war actor known for action movies).

Even so, hitting someone with a .44 from this range? Impossible.

I stared at her. "You think you can take out a sniper from this distance with a .44?"

She shook her head. "Are you nuts? No way. I'm saying... my hunting rifle is also fitted to be scoped. Keep your eyes, ears, and nose on that house. If you pick up anything that might suggest they know we're here, let me know. I'm going to move this scope."

Milly unholstered her .44 and placed it on the ground before her. Then, she went ahead and took the Hunter's Rifle from her back. I didn't watch her as she moved the scope. Instead, I kept my eyes peeled on the house. This time, I saw the flash of light. The downside to scoped weapons is, if the sun is in the wrong place, it can compromise you. Reflected sunlight can be seen from over 5 miles away. We could have seen him sooner if there weren't any clouds in the sky. We're lucky the sun broke through when it did.

I heard a click and glanced over at Milly, now holding a scoped hunting rifle. She lay down on the ground and instructed me to do the same.

"If I miss, they'll know where we are. If that happens, you dodge left, and I'll dodge right. We'll form a choke point and flush them out like that."

"And if you hit?"

"Then we rush in while the raiders are distracted."

I looked forward. It was quiet for a bit. Milly was facing away from the sun, so we weren't reflecting any light. She put the scope to her eye.

"He's not even looking through his... must be why he didn't see us right away."

I said nothing, allowing her to concentrate. She took a slow breath out, and pulled the trigger.

I couldn't see if she hit him or not, but she let out a low "Yes!" and signaled me to get up. I took that to mean that the raider died with his head no longer whole.

Milly ran quickly and Dogmeat and I followed. We were upon the house, but it still took longer than I would've liked. Milly put her back to the wall and peered through the doorway. I looked through it, also, but I could see no raiders. Milly took a grenade from her belt and pulled the pin. It was the only one she had. She cooked the grenade for a few seconds, and then tossed it up into the second story.

"What the fu-"

The explosion hurt my already sensitive ears, but I sucked it up. Milly told Dogmeat and I to wait, and she rushed in. It was just as well. Had I crawled through the doorway, I wouldn't have enough room to manuever, and if Dogmeat got in, there wasn't much solid flooring to stand on.

While she was in there, I looked at Dogmeat.

"I haven't hurt her yet, so don't kill me before she gets back."

Dogmeat snorted.

_"I don't expect you to hurt her. You're not the type of human that hurts other humans for pleasure or other self-gain."_

I stared. "Human?" Dogmeat eyed me.

_"Oh, drop it. I figured it out after we got you away from that slaver camp. You smell like a human, not a deathclaw, you didn't hurt my human, and you're intelligent enough to talk."_

Ever get that feeling where your heart seems to shiver and skip, you're so shocked? That's what I was getting.

_"When we first found you and I noticed how off your scent was, I assumed it was from the slavers. After Mil washed off your wounds and tended to you, though, you still smelled like a normal human. Sure, there's some deathclaw on it, but it's mostly human. What the hell happened to you?"_

I tried to get out a few words, but I choked on them. Dogmeat snorted again.

_"Talk about unlucky, pal. Why won't you tell her?"_

I still couldn't talk. My heart was going a mile a minute and I was shaking. Milly finally came out of the wrecked house with a backpack full of supplies. At least, that's what I thought she said. Dogmeat nudged me.

_"Look alive. My human's eyeing you."_

I snapped out of my shock and looked at Milly. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you alright, Cord?"

I hesitantly nodded. "Yeah... fine."

You know she bought that. "What happened? What's going on?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Hey, uhh... what's say we get moving again? I think we should get to Smith Casey's Garage before night falls."

_Very good. You're not only this human's pet, but you're also the worst liar this side of the galaxy._

That might have been the first time I tried to retaliate against the primitive part of my mind's lectures. I imagined myself kicking it. No response. I knelt for Milly to get on my back again and we took off. Dogmeat eyed me the entire time.

_"For a human, you can sure control that body pretty well."_

I didn't respond. Instead, I savored these words- They were likely the only things close to a "compliment" I would get from the furball.

While we moved, Milly decided it was a good time to turn on the radio. I actually had to keep myself from stopping and jumping for joy. The dead silence between us all (even Dogmeat had nothing else to say) was driving me nuts. "What's on?" I asked, slowing for Milly to get her arms around my neck again. At the speed I was originally going, falling would hurt. Bad.

"Galaxy News!" she chirped. We tuned in during a break, though. "I'm Only Sleeping" by a pre-war band called "The Beatles" was playing.

_"Please don't spoil my day, I'm miles away and after all..."_

Smith Casey's garage was not much further. We were keeping our distance from a raider camp called Evergreen Mills. Typically, keeping distance was enough to deter raiders from attacking. Not today.

There was a loud gunshot and Milly fell from my back with a scream (thankfully I was still picking up my speed, so she didn't fall too hard). Dogmeat was alert immediately and I whirled to the direction where the sniper was shooting from.

_"I'm only sleeping."_

Dogmeat found him first (he was on top of a few boulders near us) and bounded towards him. He shot at Dogmeat, but the mutt knew how to move. I followed him, feeling the deathclaw in my mind trying to tell me what to do.

_Let me help you survive this,_ was its argument. I ignored it, seeing Dogmeat sink his teeth into the sniper's throat. I stopped and turned back to Milly.

_"Lying here staring at the ceiling, waiting for a sleepy feeling..."_

Milly was clutching the wound on her leg. Blood was spraying out of it and I would've paled if I could have.

It looked like the bullet nicked her femoral artery. Dogmeat rushed to Milly's side.

"_Mil, hang in there!"_

"Cord!" she cried. "Get that guy's sniper rifle and bring it to me! I have an idea."

I didn't question her. I turned and ran to the raider, taking the gun from him. He was still alive, and he looked at me.

"Please," he croaked. "It hurts so much. Kill me!"

I glared. This man tried to kill the girl who saved my life. Had we surrendered, he'd not show mercy. Rather than kill him quickly, I did the coldest thing I have ever done, and ever will do:  
>I walked away.<p>

"You deserve to die slowly and painfully. Rest in everlasting torment," I said. He choked, not caring that an animal responded to him.

"Please!"

_"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy, I don't mind, I think they're crazy..."_

I walked back to Dogmeat. Milly was still conscious, but her bleeding was bad. If we didn't fix this within the next minute or two, there was a real good chance she would die. I could tell she knew it, and she took the gun and removed one bullet. In her pocket was a pair of needle-nose pliers and a lighter.

"Cord, cut these pants so the wound is exposed! Do it now!"

I got to her leg and held it still with one paw. Using the other, I cut through the fabric. The blood was rushing from the wound and she took the needle-nose pliers. She bit down on the bullet and pulled the one in her leg loose, earning another spurt of blood. She was paling quickly and shaking.

_"Please don't wake me, no don't shake me, leave me where I am..."_

She pulled the bullet from her teeth and quickly took the tip off with the pliers. With what little strength she had, she poured the gunpowder into her wound. She hissed, took the lighter, and bought it to the gunpowder.

_"I'm only sleeping."_

The gunpowder ignited with a flash, but Milly endured with only a whimper. Once the flash was over and the smell of gunpowder and burnt muscle hit my nose, she wasn't bleeding anymore. She managed to cauterize the wound. Once she was sure it was sealed, she sighed in relief and took off her pants, wrapping some of the fabric tightly around her wound. She cut it off to use it as a makeshift bandage, and injected herself with a stimpack she looted off a raider earlier. Finally, she looked at Dogmeat and I.

"Thanks, guys. Let me change into a good pair of pants and we'll keep going. We can't stay here."

She needed to rest, but I knew she was right. There would be more raiders, and I knew that there was no talking her into stopping when her Dad could be so close.

We let her change her pants, and then I picked her up. This time, I carried her in my arms, because if she fell asleep (which was a real good possibility from the blood loss), she'd lose her grip and fall off my back. Sure enough, she closed her eyes after a few minutes. Since she had no concussion and my medical knowledge was finite (I learned from her over time), I let her sleep. She even slept through Three Dog, which is an incredible feat. The man knew how to shout.

"Hello, America? It's me, your president: John Henry Ede- haha! Gotcha! Three Dog here. How's everyone doing? News time, children... and today, I've got a few things that'll just blow you away: First off, remember how a few weeks ago I mentioned Grayditch going quiet? Well, GNR sources say that the reason behind the sudden silence lies with giant fire ants. Yeah. Guess what? They're not called "fire ants" for nothing, children. Steer clear of Grayditch unless you have either a death wish or a real powerful gun and eyes in the back of your head. In other news, our Lone Wandering friend isn't alone anymore. GNR sources say she's now travelling with a big dog and one other companion. Care to guess what kind of companion it is? No, it's not a human. No, not a ghoul... No, not a fire ant, and sadly, not her father either. It's a Deathclaw. A Deathclaw. A fuckin' _Deathclaw,_ children. Judging by the fact that she's still breathing... this one's tame. Never seen that. What I'm hearing is, 101 liberated Paradise Falls- nice work. In so doing, she also appearantly freed all the slaves, one of which being a Deathclaw. I don't know what those slavers were doing with it, but I have to mention this: 101, if you're listening... I know I said you can duck in here if you ever need to, but keep that beast on a leash. And watch your dog, too. Thanks for listening, children! This is Three Dog, and we're coming to you live from Galaxy News Radio. Now, some music."

We kept moving, and she kept sleeping. I finally asked Dogmeat something I meant to ask:

"Hey, earlier you said that I, of all creatures, should know by now that death is a near certainty. Why'd you say that if you knew I was... human?"

He eyed me while running. _"Because most humans are murderers. Think about it: People are going around killing each other today just like they did before they lit the Earth on fire. The only difference is the radiation. The world's hardly changed, if you ask me."_

I stared at him for a few seconds while we ran. Dogmeat was cynical, opinionated, and a real hardass... but he wasn't above feeling. I could tell by the way he ran now that death disturbed him; that killing disturbed him.

He would kill to protect Milly, but I could tell he never took pleasure in it, no matter what he tries to let on. The death of that man in the Scrapyard must've hurt him a lot. Just looking at him would tell you that.

Even so, Dogmeat would rarely show emotion. He'd hold them in. The bullet Milly took was enough, though. Tears started leaking from his eyes now. He shook his head around to hide them, and I could sense a discomfort on him. He didn't like other people seeing tears from his eyes... and not many people or animals do. I showed courtesy and stopped watching. Once I did, that feeling of discomfort diminished slightly. We kept moving, and Smith Casey's Garage became visible on the horizon. Milly opened her eyes again around then.

"Hey, good timing. We're just about here," I said. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and put the other over her leg, letting out a hiss of pain. She looked towards the building and smiled.

"Thanks so much, Cord."

I nodded, slowing down as we finally approached. "It is the least I can do. You saved me from slavery. And you saved my life."

I snorted in the air for a few moments and smiled. "I smell detergent, cologne, bleach, and more detergent. Sound like your Dad at all?"

She nodded. "He's very clean! Anyone else in there?"

I nodded back. "Several. I can hear machines grinding in there, too. It should be fine, though. I can't sense any hostility."

She smiled, and looked at the door. Dogmeat was sitting by her side, now, tears still in his eyes. Milly knew they were there for sure, but she didn't seem to want to bring attention to it. Even she knew how he felt about crying.

"So... I guess you'll want to be getting back to... wherever you were before all this, right?"

I blinked. "I wander around all the time. My detainment at Paradise Falls didn't exactly mess up any plans I may have had."

She kept eyeing me. "...You just walk around?"

"I look for food and explore. That's it. I have a friend in Deathclaw Sanctuary, but I've been known to drop off the face of the earth, so no harm done."

She smiled. "Why don't you come with me, then? Tag along with my Dad, Dogmeat, and I. We can't go back to the Vault, anyway. Knowing the Overseer, he changed the lock on the door."

I stared. "I don't think your Dad will very much appreciate seeing me with you."

She giggled. "Once I tell him of the circumstances, he'll go along with it. Or try to kill you."

I was unmoved. She giggled again. "I'm just joking, Cord! Of course he'll understand! Now, come on- you do want to tag along, don't you?"

I thought for a minute. Tagging along with Milly meant a steady source of food, companionship, and exploration- three things I bust my rear on a regular basis searching for.

On the other hand, that meant being away from Kastine for longer than usual. She'll really lay into me for staying away.

We're a little closer than I originally let on.

Still, I owed her my life and it would be very rude for me to say no, so I nodded.

"I'd love to travel with you if you would have me."

Milly smiled. "Great! Come on, then... just watch your head."

_"You're like a nightmare that won't go away."_

I snorted. "Charming, Doggone."

Milly left the door open for me and started slowly inching her way into the room. She was limping, but her .44 was still in her hand and she insisted on walking independently.

"Cord, let me know if you can smell my wound bleeding again, okay?" she asked. I nodded.

"Of course."

She took her backpack off and picked up a few cans of food, leaving the old potato crisps, sugar bombs, and the like on the ground. I pointed at a jar of honey and she picked it up (honey never goes bad). Once she resupplied, she opened another door to be greeted by a room full of mole rats. They didn't even acknowledge her, and she didn't acknowledge them. I licked my chops, but held back. I made a mental note to sneak away one night and have a buffet. I also told myself to pick up a few bottles of wine if by some miracle I return to normal. The date on one of them was 2007. Wine gets better with age. This wine was 270 years old. I almost asked Milly to pick it up, as I couldn't hold onto the small bottle with my paws, but she was carrying a lot as it was. Instead, I pushed the wine bottle away from the others and prayed it would stay there.

It didn't. Damn thing rolled into a hole where a grate used to be.

"No!" I hissed. Milly turned to look at me.

"What is it?"

Imagine a deathclaw staring at you, jaw slightly agape, with one arm reaching into a hole in the floor. That's me. Now imagine a pretty girl in her late teens holding a .44, tapping her foot impatiently with a big dog next to her. That's Milly. Now imagine the mole rats cowering in a corner as far away from the deathclaw as possible. I just painted the picture for you. You're welcome.

I didn't want Milly to think anything bad about me, so I made something up on the spot again.

"Dropped a bottle of iodine in the grate. Can't get it back."

Milly bought it. "Oh! Well, it's okay. We'll find more."

I nodded. The primitive part of my mind was silent, either because it enjoyed seeing me angry, or didn't fully understand what I was angry about. I followed Dogmeat and Milly to the middle of the room. She spun around, looking for any signs of her father. I snorted in the air with Dogmeat for a few minutes. Aside from the scent of those Mole Rats (surprisingly, not a bad smell), I could make out more of that clean scent from outside. Dogmeat nudged me and started walking to one side of the room, and I followed.

"Mil!"

She turned to us, and her eyes met with a switch on the wall. She ran to it, and pressed it.

Two panels from the floor started opening up, revealing a staircase down to another door. Without saying a word to Dogmeat or myself, she started down them. We followed.

Once we got through the door, we were in a hallway. At the end was a big door shaped like a gear. A female voice on an intercom startled us all.

"_Welcome to Vault 112, resident."_

The door began to open and Milly lept back, landing (thankfully) on her good leg. The door made a horrible screeching sound as it opened. Dogmeat tried to howl over the sound to drown it out. I covered my ears and backed off a little.

Suddenly, the screeching sound faded away. The door was open, and Milly was trudging towards it. Dogmeat and I followed.

Both of us were jumpy, fearing a sound just like that door opening scaring us again. There was another door just up a few steps in this Vault, but it opened without a peep. Once my ears stopped ringing, I smiled a little.

I'd never been inside an actual Vault before! It smelled like metal, oil, and bleach. The Vault was clean... but there wasn't a soul in sight.

Milly limped into the room, and around a corner came a robobrain- some type of robot that uses a human brain for function. Robobrains always fascinate me- even when they're shooting at me. Even now I stay awake nights wondering what is controlling the robot- a computer, or the human brain?

This one didn't shoot at us. In fact, it waved.

"Hello. Resident. Welcome. To. Vault. 112. You. Have. Arrived. Approximately. 202. Years. And. 3. Months. Behind. Schedule."

Milly blinked. The Robobrain looked at Dogmeat and I.

"Hello. Residents. Welcome. To-"

"Uh... I get it. Hey, have you seen my father? He's a middle aged guy, looks kind of like me."

The robobrain beeped a few times, then turned to a locker, pulled a blue Vault-Jumpsuit with "112" embroidered on the back, and turned back to Milly. It held out the jumpsuit.

"Please. Change. Into. Your. Appropriate. Attaire. Resident. And. Proceed. To. The. Loungers."

"Is my Father here?" she asked. The Robobrain beeped again, and a ray of light from its torso scanned Milly's face.

"Match. Found. Odds. Of. Mismatch. Are. Less. Than. 1%. Family. Unit. "Father". Is. In. Lounger. Room. Please. Dress. And. Proceed. There."

Milly blinked, and slowly took off her backpack. I turned away to respect her privacy, and Dogmeat sat next to me.

_"You don't think she'll suspect something of you?"_

I looked at Dogmeat and whispered "What do you think, she's going to say 'Cord is respecting my privacy. He must be a mutated human'?"

Dogmeat blinked, and nodded thoughtfully. _"Good point."_

We were silent for a while afterwards, and Dogmeat looked at me again.

_"Are we best friends or worst enemies?"_

I shrugged. "You haven't tried to tear out my throat, I haven't tried to rip you into pieces. I'd say we're friends."

_"You still annoy me."_

I snorted. "Whatever, Dogmulch."

Milly cleared her throat.

"Okay, you guys can come over here now."

She was already heading for a staircase when we got to her. Wordlessly, I followed. Dogmeat kept pace with me.

The room we entered was a large atrium of sorts with several pods capable of storing humans arranged in a circle. At the foot of each pot was a computer monitor. Wires connected to each pod, and I could just barely make people out inside a few. Once we got closer, Milly ran to one of them.

"Dad!" she cried. Dogmeat and I rushed closer to look, too.

Inside was a man that looked to be in his 50's. His hair was graying, he wore a white lab coat, and under it was a blue vault uniform. I could make out a pistol on one leg, but this man looked like he was more brain than brawn. Milly's eyes were watering, but I gently tapped her with one claw.

"Look closely. He's still breathing; still alive."

At my words, Milly put her hands against the glass and squinted. Her eyes suddenly bore a look of relief.

"You're right."

A voice on an intercom interrupted us.

_"Please. Enter. The. Nearest. Vacant. Tranquility. Lounger. Citizen."_

Milly looked around. "Get my Dad out of there!" She commanded. There was no response. One of these "Tranquility Loungers" opened just next to her Dad's. Milly looked all around, but wasn't able to see anyone. Sighing, she trudged towards it. I put a paw out.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She pointed at the lounger. I shook my head.

"No, you can't! We don't know who is talking to you!"

_"That's crazy! Don't do it, Mil!"_

Milly turned to look at us.

"My Dad's in one. He's still alive. The other people here are also in them, and they all seem to be alive. If this is what I have to do to get my Dad back, then so be it."

Dogmeat and I both made a sound of protest, but she still lay down in the tranquility coffin. The lid closed, and she gave us both one more look that said "Everything will be okay".

I tried to relax a little. This was Milly. She survived an entire camp of slavers, and even cauterized a wound to her own femoral artery. Even when things don't start out seeming okay, she makes them okay.

_"...Cord, help me look around for a way to get these people out of those things."_

I looked at Dogmeat. He was staring at me with determination in his eyes; determination to ensure Milly's (or "my human", as he liked to call her) safety.

I started looking around, too. The few robots in this atrium mostly ignored us, but they would spout random statements once in a while, like "_Mild motion sickness can occur after leaving the Tranquility Loungers."_

While we searched, though, one thing echoed in my mind:

_Please be okay._

_**-Revolution! Revolution!-**_

_Loading Tranquility_Lane_0666..._

_Loaded._

The stereotypical American dream was a cul de sac, blue skies, children at play, a park, green grass, and happiness. Thus, Tranquility Lane came to be.

If Braun wanted it, so it was. He has control over everything in the computer simulation. There were blue skies every day, beautiful well kept homes, and happy (one might argue "manic") citizens... with the exception of one Old Lady Dithers.

The simulation was meant to be an escape of sorts. I had no idea Braun was actually still alive. I entered the Vault to find any information I could about a G.E.C.K- the Garden of Eden Creation Kit.

Braun's robots informed me that he survived inside the simulation. They gave me permission to use their "Tranquility Loungers" and I appeared in his "Tranquility Lane".

Indeed, I spoke with Braun for several minutes (after exploring his simulation a little), though I can't say I wasn't disturbed by his choice of form in his simulation. Rather than appear as he was in the real world, Braun insisted on using the form of a little girl named "Betty". I had no reason to question his motives, so I dropped it relatively quickly.

That was, of course, _before_ I found out how twisted the man was.

He confirmed that there _is_ a G.E.C.K. He agreed to tell me where to find it- as long as I did a few things for him. I agreed... until he told me my first task was to "disembowel Dithers with a kitchen utensil". Though this was only a simulation and Dithers would indeed be unharmed once Braun revived her, I said 'no'. I asked him if there was something else I could do.

"Very well," he said. "If you cannot kill Dithers, perhaps you can go to the Henderson's. Tamper with their oven and have it burn the house down, as they should be sleeping. If you do this, I will tell you all you need to know."

"I can't kill an innocent person, Braun."

Braun blinked at me. "I will simply revive them after you kill them. What's the big deal? You may find it as entertaining as I do!"

"There's a principle involved, and you're sadistic. Never mind. I'll find the G.E.C.K. myself."

I turned to try and find a way out, but found myself unable to move any further.

"Not so fast, James."

"Let me go, Braun," I said. He didn't oblige.

"If you will not entertain me with loss of life, perhaps I can entertain myself with the loss of your humanity."

I thought for a minute. "What are you- agh!"

It was a simulation. I should not have felt the pain I did as he turned me into a dog (at least, in the simulation. I was just as human as I'd always been in the Tranquility Lounger. I think.)

I felt the pain because Braun wanted me to. Had he not wanted me to, I wouldn't have known I changed until I looked down at the ground. I felt it all- hair growing all over my body, my organs shifting inside me, my bones actually _snapping_ and relocating- my center of balance shifting, sending me onto four feet instead of two. It was too realistic.

Suddenly my sense were heightened. I could see clearer, smell lemonade being made by a kid across the street, I could hear a couple talking a few houses away... had I not been so terrified, I would've spent a few moments in complete fascination.

I also felt a sharp kick by Braun. I let out a growl, but he shook a finger at me (I refuse to grace him with the name he wanted to be called).

"Ah, ah, ah! If you try to hurt me, I'm afraid you'll have to cease to exist."

Braun had total control in the simulation. If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead. The only thing he _didn't_ have control over was his own death.

I tried to curse him, but all that came out was a bark. I also let out a gasp/yelp after I heard it, unintentionally earning another laugh from that bastard. Knowing there was nothing I could do to Braun directly, I instead looked around the simulation several times... trying to find _some_ way to beat Braun at his own game. The only ways I could think of involved me entering houses; how I missed my thumbs...

I spent several hours combing for a way out of this nightmare to no avail. Eventually, I retreated to a tree by the playground and plopped to the ground with a whine.

I'd been stuck as a dog (Braun called me "Doc the Dog" to try my patience) for several days. It was tough staying sane, especially when a few people came by and patted my head or praised me. I'm not angry at them for it. If you see a domesticated dog, you want to praise, pat, or play with it. Every time someone came over to do something like that, Braun would let out a snicker.

I'd about given up hope and resigned myself to eternity in this form when someone new entered the simulation. She was a small girl... or at least, that's what Braun wanted her to be.

I'll admit for a few moments, I couldn't recognize my own girl. Then she walked right up to me (Milly always loved domesticated dogs) and patted my head.

"Good doggie," she said. I was too shocked to respond with even a bark.

I left my girl in a Vault; left her so she could lead a safe life. Either she was really here, or Braun was trying to get to me. I doubted the latter, as I never mentioned to him that I had a daughter. As powerful as he was there, he wasn't able to read minds.

Why did she leave the Vault? I sincerely hoped it wasn't because of me.

After the few moments she spent with me, she ran up to Braun.

"Hi, have you seen my Dad?" she asked.

...she _did leave because of me!_

I watched in mixed emotions. I was thrilled to see her, horrified that she left the Vault, angry that she followed me, but most of all sad that I was so close, and she didn't know it.

_Don't listen to Braun, sweetheart. Find a way out of this mess!_

With my heightened hearing, I could understand completely what the two were talking about. It started off innocent: How impressed my girl was with the simulation (this is before she found out how sick the man was), how surprised Braun himself was that she'd come all the way here to find her Dad... then it went into talk of Tranquility Lane itself, then the citizens, and finally where she could find me. Braun admitted that he knew where I was (I considered letting out a bark to tell her, but Braun must've anticipated that, because he had the sound of barking playing in the simulation). He also told her that I was safe and sound, just rendered "unable to bother" him.

I raised my girl to be very patient with people, but everybody has a limit. Braun was crossing hers. From 19 years with her, I knew what happened when people irritated her. I could see her squeeze her hands into fists.

"Tell me where to find him, and quit speaking in circles!"

"I'll tell you where to find him. As long as you play with me first!"

Her hands slowly unclenched. I sighed in relief. It wouldn't do to have her suffer the same fate as I, or worse.

"Fine, but make it quick."

"I knew you would! Okay, here it is..."

Braun seemed to pause a moment. Milly didn't know what to expect, but I think he did it just to get me mad. I thought he was going to ask her to "disembowel" Dithers as he did me, and he knew that.

"I want you to make Timmy Neusbaum cry."

I sighed in relief. Not to sound heartless, but making a boy cry is a lot better than ending an innocent life. Once my relief washed away, it was replaced with worry. Milly knew better than to do that... right?

By the time I looked back at where she and Braun were talking, she was gone. I gulped, and looked around.

With my enhanced hearing, I made out a "thud" and Timmy crying. I let out a breath through my nostrils, and Braun sent a snicker in my direction. If I still had the means to, I would've flipped him the bird.

"Not the most creative method, but eh, crying is crying. You win the game, and therefore win a question with an honest answer."

Milly blinked, and a look of thought crossed her face. I could tell that she felt horrible for hitting Timmy. She shook her head around a little to clear it, and took a breath.

"My Dad. Where is he? Don't beat around the bush. Just. Tell. Me."

Braun snickered. "He's here. In Tranquility Lane. He's a doctor, no?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nah-ah-ah! If you want me to answer another question, you have to win another game. All you need to do is break up a m-"

I couldn't let my girl listen to him again. He warned me that if I tried to hurt him, I'd be dealt with. He didn't say anything about me pulling my girl away from him. I grabbed her dress with my mouth and started tugging. Milly was never one to hurt a domesticated animal, so she tried to pull it loose from my jaws.

"Hey, come on... let me go, pup."

Braun was eyeing me the entire time.

"Very interesting..." he muttered. He looked at Milly. "It seems Doc has taken an interest in you."

"Is that good?"

"How do you feel about skinning dogs alive?"

Milly looked at Braun. I know he wasn't serious. I reminded him of how much power he had. Why get rid of a trophy?

"Come on... Doc... down, boy!"

I managed to pull her towards me a little.

"Agh! Okay, I guess... I'll be right back...?"

When she finally relented, I released her and trotted away. Braun was eyeing us the entire time. Milly stared at me.

"What is it, Doc?"

I rolled my eyes to Dithers. When I spoke with the residents, they mentioned how she was convinced they were all in some sort of "simulation", and that she knew the way "out". With nothing else to go by, I tried to direct Milly to Dithers without Braun seeing. I couldn't bear to see my little girl do these horrible things just to find me when I'm so close.

She didn't understand what I was doing at first. I could see her readying to walk back to Braun, so I nudged her, made sure she was staring into my eyes, and then rolled them towards Dithers again. She made a glance in the direction I was staring, but other than that looked back at me again. I nudged her once more, waited for her to stare me in the eyes again, and darted them towards Dithers several times. I saw Milly gradually comprehend what I was trying to say. She turned her head to look first in that direction, then at the house, and finally at the old woman (she was staring at Milly for a long while now). Once she saw the woman, she looked at me again. I nudged her towards Dithers. She uncertainly started towards the old woman. Braun eyed her.

I could hear the words they exchanged but Braun did not. He was more concerned with the flowers in the playground, so he started to pay more attention to them. I didn't make any move to look like I was listening to her conversation. I plopped to the ground and played uninterested.

Dithers was telling her how to trigger a failsafe that would free the prisoners of Tranquility Lane (she called it a failsafe). I relaxed a little. Milly was the type that couldn't stand it when innocent people around her suffered.

I could hear her tell Milly how to know the code to use the failsafe. She was a smart girl. She'd get it.

Dithers directed Milly to an abandoned house. Braun likely saw her go in there. He could've killed her for it, but he didn't. I guessed it was because the abandoned house held the key to escape. Maybe he feared damaging it. Braun didn't punish me for anything, and he didn't go after Dithers, either. I had a feeling it was because he couldn't figure out who to blame.

I sat patiently. She'd figure it out. I knew it. Braun didn't know how smart my girl was. I'd bet he was hoping she'd give up and come back to him. He didn't know that my girl doesn't give up.

T_o

It was about twenty minutes before the first Chinese Soldiers appeared on Tranquility Lane. I'd been looking between Braun and the abandoned house several times when the gunshots started. Braun dropped the watering can he was using in shock. Somebody actually beat him!

All around we could hear gunshots and people dying. The Chinese Soldiers were not paying attention to Braun or I. For a few moments I wondered what good this would do. Braun can just bring those who die back, can't he?

When my Milly ran out of the house to Braun, a door titled "EXIT" appeared.

"Do you realize what you've done?" shouted Braun. Milly pretended to think for a minute.

"I'm not so sure, but I think I put an end to your sick games. Now, where's my Dad?"

Braun grabbed her by the shoulders. "You triggered the failsafe! You killed them! You ruined everything!"

"So what, Braun?" I asked. I stopped in surprise. I was still trapped in the form of a dog, but I could talk again now. Milly looked at me in shock.

"D-Dad?"

I didn't respond to her immediately.

"You'll just revive them, won't you?" I asked. "You're a sick man."

"I can't revive them, you fool! The failsafe overrides my power... I have no power over them, now... they'll all die while I'll be stuck here forever!"

"You're getting exactly what you deserve," I said.

"This is so unfair!"

Milly was staring at me the entire time. The Chinese Soldiers were still ignoring us on the playground. I listened as the last of the citizens of Chaotic Lane fell. The failsafe was complete... but Braun was still alive. He deserved an eternity alone for what he did. Finally, Braun slumped his shoulders.

"Go. There's the exit. I have no power over you anymore."

I approached Milly and nudged her. "Come. We'll talk outside."

She snapped out of her trance and slowly nodded. I touched the door... and left Chaotic Lane behind.

_**-Revolutions do not last.-**_

Dogmeat was howling. I was covering my ears the best I could. Alarms were blaring all around us. Red lights were flashing by the Tranquility Coffins. The Robots were trying to open the coffins to remove several people, but most had been shut for so long that they weren't responding. Three opened, though. One had Milly, another an aging man in a Vault jumpsuit, and the third was empty. The robots managed to stop the alarm, and with it, Dogmeat stopped howling. He saw Milly, and just... lit up.

The entire time she was in that lounger thing... it was nerve racking for both of us. Dogmeat really, _really_ wanted her out of there.

When he ran to Milly, I heard a gun cock behind me, followed by something that sounded like a curse, but smarter. I turned slowly with my paws up, no doubt earning confusion.

"Hey, buddy... Dad! Dad, stop it!"

Milly got in front of me. She spread her arms.

"Good to see you're okay, Milly," I said. She smiled up at me, and her Dad dropped his gun and faltered.

"What the-"

"Dad, this is Cord. He's an intelligent deathclaw. He's okay, Dad. He saved my life."

Milly's Dad looked at her.

"Milly, this is a-"

"I know, Dad. I know."

"How do you know you can trust it?"

I almost clarified on my gender, but I didn't want to be rude, nor did I want to draw attention to my, shall we say, "male marker".

My voice. Females don't have deep voices.

"How do I know I can trust it? You mean, like, how do I know I can trust _you_ not to book on me again?" she snapped. Her Dad sighed.

"Yes, why are you not in the Vault? I left you there."

"I left the Vault to find you. The Overseer would've killed me if I stayed."

"I see... I'm sorry."

Milly turned towards me. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Yeah, well, you _could've_ told me you were leaving."

"Milly, I had important things to take care of."

"What is more important than a family?" she shouted, turning to her Dad with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You left me, and you gave no indication that you were leaving! Dad, you can't outgrow a family!"

Milly's Dad was silent. She continued, her voice at normal volume now.

"I didn't find you to bring you back to the Vault. I found you because I want to know why. Why did you lie to me? Why did you leave? Why are you such a shitty Dad?"

"Milly!" I blurted out. She whirled to me.

"Shut up, Cord!"

I was silent. Milly turned to her Dad, still sobbing.

"Why did you do it?"

Milly's Dad took a breath and took his daughter in a hug. She finished sobbing in his shoulder.

"I did it because there's something I need to do; something that can provide hope for the people of the Capital Wasteland... maybe even the world. I didn't mean to be a "shitty Dad", sweetheart. I didn't mean to hurt you. You're a big girl now. You don't need me guiding you anymore... but I guess you're right about something: you can't outgrow a family. I'm sorry, dear."

I gingerly placed one finger on Milly's shoulder to try and calm her a little. Her Dad eyed me the entire time warily.

"I know we have much to discuss, sweetheart... but can it wait until we get out of this Vault? I'm heading to Rivet City next... and I'd like you to come. I'll explain everything on the way."

Milly started to calm down. Her Dad released her, and she sniffled.

"Sorry I called you a "shitty Dad"... I'm just frustrated..."

"I know, dear. I know. Now, let's go."

She nodded slowly. "Okay..."

Milly's Dad turned away and started walking. We all followed. I could feel her Dad paying close attention to me while we left the Vault. He kept doing it. When we finally got out of the Vault, and then Smith Casey's Garage, I saw how late it was getting. Rather than keep moving tonight, we decided to stay in Smith Casey's Garage and continue in the morning. Milly wanted to secure the back of the building, but her Dad (whose name I learned was "James") insisted that it was okay. She got into a small argument about it, and I snorted.

What's a manhunt, shouting match, and an argument among family?

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>9,190 words. That's what I've been doing for the past few weeks.<strong>

**It's 11:42 PM right now, so I don't know what I'm typing about. Sausages. Pancakes. Eggs. That'd be a nice breakfast.**

**Cord says that Milly can intimidate Yao Guai, but it's really supposed to just be a reference to the "Animal Friend" perk. I'm not trying to make her seem overly powerful. Sorry if I worded that badly.**

**I like "I'm Only Sleeping". It's what I should be doing right now.**

**Next chapter covers Rivet City and Project Purity... I guess.**

**See where I'm going with this one yet? ...you STILL don't know?**

**Next chapter covers... oh, yeah.**


	8. By Sweat and Toil

**Chapter 6**

**By Sweat and Toil**

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><p><strong>"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when <em>you<em> walk into an open sewer and die."**

**-Mel Brooks**

* * *

><p>"It's incredible, isn't it? I mean, here's the most resistant creature in the wasteland, and I'm treating his wounds <em>again!<em>"

I chuckled, very embarrassed for my stupid move.

"What can I say? Wine is my trouble. Or trouble is my wine. Point is, I'm good at hurting myself."

Milly giggled. "I'll say."

I should probably explain something. Some people say that the only thing safe in the wasteland is the floor. That's not true. There is no place that's 100% safe in the wasteland. My foot being caught in a rusty bear trap just proves it. Yes, it broke the skin, yes it hurts, and yes, it's _stuck._

There are many traps you can come across: mines, bear traps, tripwires, you name it. I was thankful that it wasn't a mine. I was carrying Milly (her Dad insisted that walking with her leg wound wasn't smart). If I stepped on a mine... it may not have killed me, but I can't say the same about her. I wasn't running (James wanted me to keep pace with him). Now, I was on the ground, James and his daughter were trying to pry a rusty hunk of metal off of my foot, and Dogmeat was going off on me for being so ignorant. By now, we'd been travelling for a few days, and were almost at Rivet City.

Did the bear trap hurt the second I stepped on it? No. In fact, if I didn't hear it clamp on my ankle, I probably would have made it a few more steps before the "Clank! Clank! Clank!" of each step stopped me. Now, since it had some time, it hurt.

"This is a very old bear trap," grunted James. Even I was having trouble getting it off.

"It was probably here before the bombs dropped," mused Milly. I told them to step aside and let me try again, and I started pulling.

With this form, I can probably lift upwards of 500 pounds. I can probably hold anything less than 500 pounds for a reasonable time. The sheer strength of this metal jaw on my ankle was incredible, though- until I noticed a small switch on one side and the option to "unlock" the trap. I pointed to it with one claw and Milly quickly flipped it. After that, the bear trap came off relatively easily.

After a quick laugh at my expense (I swore), James started dabbing any blood with a cloth. He took a cotton swab and rubbed it against my wound, then put it in a bag.

"Sorry, I've just never had the chance to treat a deathclaw before. I'd like to do some research on your blood when we get to Rivet City; see what sets you aside from the others in the wasteland."

I shrugged. "You have an empty syringe? You can take some more if you want."

_"Are you going to whim-"_

"Shut up, Corndog."

Dogmeat snorted. _"Haven't heard that one yet."_

"Thank you, I'd like that," said James. Once my wounds were cleaned, he gave me a stimpack, and then took some blood with another syringe. The headache came on, and I put a paw to my head.

It was the first time Milly actually saw what stimpacks did to me.

"You okay, Cord?" she asked. I nodded slowly.

"Just get headaches from those things."

That caught James' interest.

"Headaches? How bad?"

"Sub-Migraine status."

"How long has that been happening?"

I had to think for a minute. I was mutated about a month and a half ago at that point. Before my mutation, I preferred classical methods of treatment: bandages, sterilizing wounds, stitches, etc. I have used stimpacks before, but before my mutation I hated needles.

I. Hated. Needles. When I say "classical" treatments and include stitches, alcohol was also involved. By the time they got the stitches into me, I was usually so far under the table I'd either be asleep, or trying to convince the doctor that he should ask Moira Brown out.

When I _did_ have to use stimpacks, I suffered no ill effects. I might get a bruise at the sight of the injection, but I wouldn't get pounding headaches.

"Since about a month and a half ago," I said. Milly tapped me.

"Why didn't you say something when I treated you?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Didn't seem worth mentioning. I figured it was an allergy."

"Some allergies are known to set in randomly, so that is a possibility. However... I think we should monitor these; see what goes on in your brain... maybe try an MRI or a PET scan."

I stared at James. "Rivet City has those?"

He nodded. "Of course. Before the war, the boat that makes up Rivet City was a carrier with a full service medical wing. Either that or it was transporting medical equipment. The point is, there are machines there that can be used. How we're going to get a deathclaw into one remains to be seen."

"How you're going to get a deathclaw into Rivet City remains to be seen," I said.

James nodded as he bandaged my leg.

"Good point. Can you walk?"

I stood up and hopped (it's the running jump I have a problem with), feeling very little pain in my leg. "Bone's not hurt. I should be okay."

He nodded. "Alright, then."

I let Milly onto my back again and we kept walking (it's easier to walk when my paws are held a little out in front of me, so I couldn't hold her. For some reason, I don't have to do that when I'm running. I never figured that out.)

While we were walking, James kept filling us (more Milly than us, actually) in on what he was doing out here. He explained that Milly wasn't born in the Vault (she wasn't as shocked as he thought she'd be. I guess she figured that out already), and that before she was born, he and her mom worked on this project in the Jefferson Memorial called Project Purity. I didn't know anything about it. I was only born maybe a year or two before Milly. He said that... the idea was to filter the water in the basin near D.C- filter out all metals, dirt, and most importantly, radiation. After her mom died, so did the idea. James fell into a depression with the loss of her mom, and took his daughter to Vault 101, where he pleaded for entry. It was there that she was raised.

Then, 19 years later, the Vault Overseer practically kicked her ass to the curb. How nice.

Well, I guess James got over whatever made him feel that "Project Purity" was hopeless. He reminded me of my Dad, kind of. My Dad is the kind of guy who would abandon something, and then come back to it randomly some time later.

It turned out, killing those raiders in that burned out house before was a good idea, because we passed it at the start of our trip to Rivet City. By then, it was only around a day since Milly massacred them, so it was still vacant. Raiders are a lot like bugs. Sure, you can kill a couple, but unless you get rid of the nest (in this case, Evergreen Mills), they'll simply come back.

There was no need to completely destroy the raider camp nearby (even if Evergreen Mills is gone, chances are raiders will keep popping up. They have no solid chain of command, so there's nothing to target if you want to destroy them short of killing every single one in the area. The Capital Wasteland is a big place). Rather than waste time with that venture, we simply kept moving.

James kept talking, telling Milly everything he was keeping from her. He expressed anger at the Overseer for being cruel, sadness at the death of somebody named "Jonas", embarrassment at how he needed his daughter to bail him out when he should've been protecting her, and amazement at how good she was with guns, after seeing her shoot a raider down from my back.

Milly credited her skill with guns to "nine years of targets and bullies". She told Dogmeat and I that her Dad and this "Jonas" got her a BB Gun for her 10th birthday. She was bullied on and off by a guy named "Butch" (I figured he had a crush on her, but I wasn't going to say that out loud. She'd kick my ass, and I could tell she had no such feelings for Butch). She said she vented by practicing on targets for 9 years.

My Mom hated guns. When I was a kid, she didn't even like the thought of letting me play with a toy gun. My Dad was usually out finding food or things useful for trade. He and Lucas Simms were good friends. That might be why Simms put up with me for as long as he did. (He never threw me out of town. After my mutation, I had no intention of going back there unless Milly could talk him out of putting a bullet between my eyes). My Dad was very good with guns. I guess it's true what they say about traits "skipping" a generation. My kid would probably be good with guns. Or claws.

My Dad managed to scrape together enough money to move to Rivet City with my Mom. By then, I was old enough to be on my own (I was seventeen). I didn't want to live in Rivet City because the security there is insane. If I stole something there, I'd probably be shot up. So, I stayed in Megaton. Sure, the bomb was active. I lived in the Common House, by the way.

Sometimes I'd hear the guys in the Common House talking about it. "What would you do if the bomb was ticking and about to go off in 10 minutes?" one guy once asked.

Another guy replied, "I'd run as far away as possible."

Though I wasn't part of the conversation initally, I had to add my two cents.

"I'd sit on top of it. There's no escaping that thing if you've only got 10 minutes. At least it'd be fast, then, right?"

The other guy didn't appreciate my negativity. I woke up that night to a loud "BOOM!" (Everybody did). For a second, my foggy mind thought the bomb was going off, but then I realized one of those idiots lit a cherry bomb right next to my bed.

Very funny...

My thoughts were interrupted by gunfire. The good news was, we were close to Rivet City. The _bad_ news... we were being shot at by Super Mutants. Being the big stupid creatures they were, these super mutants were shooting at us with miniguns and assault rifles- from about 300 feet away. Because of the distance, none of the bullets hit any of us right away. I picked up James and darted for Rivet City. Even the Super Mutants were competent enough to know not to attack it. For one thing, most of them can't swim, and for another, the guards on the ship are ridiculous with guns.

I felt a bullet connect with my leg, but that could be dealt with. I kept running. I even saw Dogmeat take a few bullets this time, but Milly was right. He was _tough_ as _nails_. He kept running right alongside me. A few Rivet City guards saw us. Two started shooting back at the pursuing mutants and took the heat off us. I set James down, and one guard approached him.

"You here to see Doctor Li?"

James nodded. "My daughter and I."

The guard gestured to me. "You can all go up. Three Dog warned everyone to "avoid shooting the deathclaw wandering with 101" over the radio. Just let the guards know who you are over the intercom."

James nodded. "Yes, thank you."

We kept moving. By now, there was no more gunfire coming from the mutants. We got to the top of this structure Rivet City has built in order to cross over to it and Milly got off my back. I could see the guards pointing guns at me, and I waved.

"Dogmeat... are you okay, buddy?" asked a concerned Milly. James was conversing with someone over the intercom. Dogmeat licked her face.

_"I'm fine, Mil. Hey, let her know what I said, will you?"_

"He says he's fine, Milly," I said. She glanced in my direction.

"Good... looks like the bullets just grazed your skin, buddy. You're lucky."

Something of a smile appeared on his face. Milly took a stimpack out of her pocket.

"Hold still, boy. This stimpack should have you feeling better soon!"

As she broke the skin with the needle, Dogmeat looked at me.

_"See? I don't whimper when-"_

"Oh, give it up already," I said. He snorted as she pulled the needle from his skin.

_"Testy, aren't we?"_

I snorted. A low humming noise started up; the bridge was extending. James tapped Milly on the shoulder.

"I'm going ahead to the lab. You should treat your dog and... deathclaw. Meet me there so I can better dress your wound, okay?"

She nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

I remembered being shot earlier and looked at my thigh, where the bullet hit. Dogmeat and I were both very lucky.

I've heard stories of snipers shooting at targets in the pre-war world. Sometimes, the bullets start flipping through the air. Sometimes, that causes them to lose a lot of energy, other times it doesn't. On occasion, however, a sniper would have the head of a would-be victim sighted, he shoots, the bullet starts flipping, and actually _bounces_ off of the target's head. The target survives, and the sniper probably stares for a few seconds wondering if he just tried to shoot Superman. Well, I guess the bullet that hit me must've tumbled through the air, because all I had was a bruise.

Milly actually had to pause, tap it, and look up at me.

"...you got shot, right?"

I nodded slowly. "I think so..."

She tapped the bruise again. "Huh... guess lady luck is on our side. You get to go inside a city full of humans without being shot, and none of us got killed by those Super Mutants."

I smiled. "Maybe I should try my luck at New Vegas."

Milly giggled. "Come on, let's go meet with my Dad."

I nodded. "Let's."

=.=

Rivet City is a pre-war aircraft carrier that was beached. Once the bombs dropped, various aspects of the environment changed. Mountains formed in seconds, fissures and canyons appeared, water levels rose or dropped... it was a disaster. The carrier was beached (a few ghouls that were around since before the war say so), and the water must've dropped when the bombs fell.

It was left alone for a long while. Nobody is quite sure what it was like before anyone settled it... not even the ghouls who were around to see Rivet City before it was Rivet City. They say it's because you don't pay much attention to a beached ship when there's nothing noteworthy about it. That's true, I guess.

It must've been a shocker for the people on the ship to see Three Dog's "Lone Wanderer" walking around with a dog by one side and a deathclaw by the other (she insisted on walking in the ship, but I'm sure her Dad would be angry that I let her do it if he found out).

"Come on, Dr. Li's lab is down this hall," said Milly.

"E-excuse me, miss?"

I froze. That voice... it couldn't be...

"Excuse me? Can I ask you something, dear?"

...Mom?

Milly had turned to look at her. "Hi, what can I do for you guys?"

...Mom... and Dad? I haven't seen them since before my mutation... oh, no... they don't think...

"So, you're Miss 101?" asked my Dad. Milly smiled.

"I am. Is there something you need?"

My Mom took a step forward. Both were ignoring me. (It took every ounce of will to keep from saying "Mom" or "Dad". It was harder still to keep the tears back...)

"We heard that you've been to Megaton recently; that you disarmed the bomb there the other day."

...Milly disarmed that thing?

"We were hoping..."

"Have you seen our son, miss?"

Milly tilted her head. "Your son?"

"He lives in Megaton... the Common House. His around my height, brown hair..."

"He hasn't spoken to you?"

"Not since almost 2 months ago. We're worried about him."

"Tell me a little more about him, please. Maybe I've seen him."

My Dad took a step closer. "Well, he can be pretty sneaky... and he's probably one of the only people in town who uses Deathclaw Gauntlets."

Milly glanced at me, and nodded. "Go on."

"He's pretty good at playing the psychological card. If someone is competent enough to think, he'll play to fear; use strengths against enemies... because he's not very good at fighting."

(Not anymore. People don't like listening to what I have to say, and I'm stronger now.)

My Mom piped up.

"He's usually getting himself into trouble. Lucas is very patient with him, though. He's recently been going out into the wastes a lot armed with the Deathclaw Gauntlets."

Milly crossed her arms over her chest. "What's his name?" she asked.

"Cord," was the simultaneous reply. She didn't look at me, but I could feel her body language saying "What? Noooo... couldn't be..."

"I see. Well, if I see him, I'll send him in your direction."

"Thank you!" said my mother. "I hope this isn't because of the tribal thing he did... Lucas wrote to us saying that he dressed as some tribal fellow and started dancing around the bomb, chanting in some made up language. Please tell him that it's okay, if that's why he's not visiting or writing."

I bit back a chuckle. I did that out of boredom, much to the amusement of Simms and about 90% of the town, and to the irritation of the Church of Atom. I thought it was funny.

"I will. I have to go now; my Dad's expecting me."

"Okay, thank you so much, dear. And... if it's bad news, please let us know."

Milly nodded with a smile. "I will. Don't worry, though. I'm sure it'll be fine."

With that, my parents turned away. Milly turned and kept walking. Dogmeat padded over to me.

_"You know them."_

I said nothing, staring in their direction.

_"Are those your parents, or was that some type of weird coincidence?"_

Again, I didn't respond. Milly turned back to me.

"Cord? Come on... let's go..."

I came to, nodded, and followed her. After a few steps, though, I turned my head partially back to where my parents had been.

_"So... those _were_ your parents!"_

"Enough, Dogmeat," said Milly. "You're barking too much."

He let out a whine. _"Sorry, Mil."_

I said nothing. As we approached the door to the science lab, Milly looked up at me.

"That's a weird coincidence, huh? They have a son named Cord who uses Deathclaw Gauntlets..."

I nodded, tears still in my eyes. "Yeah, it's weird."

There was a pause as the door opened.

"Cord, are you crying?" she asked, concerned. I shook my head.

"It's too musty in here for me," I (sort of) lied (it really was starting to become a problem). She nodded, though I'm not exactly sure she bought it.

"Well, hang in there. Let's see what my Dad says."

_"...it's right there, and yet you still insist on lying?"_

"Dogmeat, hush. Come on, let's go."

We kept moving, and Dogmeat kept eyeing me. He dropped it there, likely assuming I had my reasons.

I was zoned out for a while. I can't recall just what James and Dr. Li said to each other. I vaguely recall some of the other doctors/scientists down there keeping distance from me. I also recall James better treating Milly's leg. Dr. Li directed me to a big machine.

I remember her saying something about the carrying limit for the machine being around 500 pounds. I didn't know how much I weighed, but I didn't think I was more than 500 pounds. She warned me about something (I wasn't listening) and the machine pulled me inside.

It was pretty loud. Anyone that had an MRI done knows it makes noise. The actual MRI didn't hurt. It was just... loud. The entire time inside, my thoughts were with my parents. I wasn't sad anymore. I was... confused.

One half of me wanted to tell my parents what happened. If they were my parents, they'd love me unconditionally, and I knew they were (I'm not stupid). The other half wanted me to let them think I was dead. I know that sounds bad, but think:

Anyone who has loving parents knows that they sing the same tune: "We'll always love you no matter what happens." It's an easy thing to say. Acting on it is something else entirely. I've heard of people with otherwise loving parents getting hit because they admit to being gay, I've heard of ghouls returning to parents to be rejected... I've heard of people who weren't rejected, but... seeing something so drastic as my mutation was something else entirely. My parents were pretty old. Either story would be bad for them...

I made one of the hardest decisions I'd ever make in that machine:

I decided not to tell my parents. It was better that they think I'm dead than think I'm some kind of monster. I don't know if their bodies could take the stress. Death would be hard to accept, but it had to be a hell of a lot easier than seeing your son transformed into a giant monster.

My mind was so full of thoughts. I could hardly hear Dr. Li's instructions to get out of the MRI. I also remember her holding out a pill.

"Okay, come down here. I need to give you this pill. It's a radioactive isotope. We'll be using it to see which parts of your brain become active when you're given a stimpack."

I opened my mouth for the pill (I couldn't hold it) and swallowed it.

"Great, just what I need. More radiation," I mumbled. Doctor Li ignored me.

"Okay, now give it a few minutes..."

I didn't respond. Dogmeat was eyeing me.

_"You alright?"_

"Fine," I mumbled.

_"Don't sound so good. Is this about your parents?"_

"No, the air is a little dry in here... of course it's about them."

_"What are you thinking?"_

I let out a breath through my nostrils.

"I won't be seeing them like this. I think it'd be too much to handle for them."

_"I hate to say it, but that sounds like a good idea."_

I said nothing.

_"Sorry, kid."_

I had to wait for around 20 minutes before Doctor Li called me over. She was holding a stimpack. I let her inject me. After all, the headache would stop me from thinking.

T_T

Sometime after my PET, James had a bird.

"Astounding! This is... incredible!"

"Wait, Dad... I don't get it."

I'd like to say that James jumped for joy, but the most he did when he was excited was say "Astounding!"

"Don't you see? Milly, Cord's DNA! It's... there's much of it that is identical to human DNA! There's foreign, then human, foreign, human, foreign..."

Milly's head shot to look at me. I could see her put 2 and 2 together, but again she dumped it.

_"Naah... that can't happen... can it?"_

"What does that mean?" she asked. James turned away from the microscope.

"It means that... it means... I don't know what it means, dear. Cord's only got so much DNA that is different from a human's. It's remarkable how similar humans and deathclaws are."

This is a brilliant scientist trying to clean irradiated water. What kind of theory is _that? _Ooofff... bad form, James. Bad form...

"James? We need to go if you want to get to Project Purity. You can study the deathclaw's DNA some more later."

James nodded at the idea. "You're right, Madison. Come, Milly. It will be good to work alongside you."

"Do you have the results from the PET?" asked Milly. Doctor Li nodded.

"It's an allergy. That's all. As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy killing machine," she said.

I didn't say anything. Dogmeat was staring at me again.

Yeah, sure he was a cynical bastard. Yeah, teasing friends was a hobby of his (except Milly on account of not understanding what he was saying), but he cared deeply for those same friends.

It was good to have him by my side, because I gave up all hope of returning to normal in those few hours. Still, no tears fell from my eyes. Milly didn't know what to think anymore. She couldn't tell if I was sad, tired, sick, or if the allergies were getting to me.

The entire trip was silent. Nobody would say anything. Milly was keeping an eye on the roads, and an eye on Dogmeat and I (Dogmeat was staying by my side the whole time), Doctor Li stared straight ahead, her assistants looked all over the place and seemed very apprehensive (they had every right to be, what with the deathclaw walking a few feet away from them), and James... James kept eyeing his daughter.

The good news was the length of the trip to this "Project Purity" (it was in the Jefferson Memorial). The whole thing took an hour or two. It was getting late by the time we got there, though. James just wanted to get in there and do it- whatever "it" was. I, meanwhile, was silently praying not to hear "Why should we trust what Three Dog says? Kill it!"

When we finally got out to the front of the memorial, the bodies of several Super Mutants littered the floor.

"Here we are. You remember your mother's favorite passage? Revelation 21:6. 'I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. I will give unto those who are athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely.' Don't you see, honey? _This_ is the fountain! Project Purity will work... it will be what your mother always wanted... but, there's one thing. Ah, I hate to ask this, and you know I'd never want to put you in harm's way... but none of us are particularly capable fighters, and you seem to have learned to handle yourself... Milly, will you go in there and make sure it's safe before we go in?"

"I already did that, Dad."

"You have?"

Milly nodded. "I had to when I was looking for you!"

"Even the basement?"

Milly tilted her head.

"There's a basement?"

James smiled.

"Yes, dear. It's vital to Project Purity. Would you-"

"Sure, I'll take care of it," she said.

"Be careful, dear."

Milly looked up at me and then to Dogmeat.

"These two wouldn't let the Super Mutants hurt me."

_"That's right. Cord? Think you can clear your head long enough to-"_

"I'm on it," I said. Dogmeat nodded slightly.

Milly turned towards the door into the Jefferson Memorial, and we followed. My own problems had to wait. I was kind of excited, actually.

See, when I was a human, Super Mutants were always able to kick my ass. I avoided them at all costs... but still they managed to capture me before. I lucked out that time. That was when some mercs (I think Reilly's Rangers) shot them up and saved me.

This memory bothers me. I recall being carried away by two Super Mutants not long after the first time. Rather than take me towards the "underground metal building" as they called it, the Mutants took me in the wrong direction. After several days of travel, we passed Canterbury Commons... and this guy that called himself "The Mechanist" had several robots turn the mutants into swiss cheese. A Mister Gutsy undid my binds, and I thanked the guy.

He goes, "All in a day's work, citizen."

Then he runs off. Well, I passed out from malnutrition or something, and when I woke up I was back in Megaton. I never asked about who bought me back... and nobody mentioned it. I have since concluded that "The Mechanist" and that particular capture was a figment of my imagination. I never liked _Marvel_, anyway.

Back to the Super Mutant topic, they were terrifying to me. I'm good at talking my way out of situations, but Super Mutants... you can't reason with them. Believe me. I tried. I told one that "Regulators were following them". I don't remember everything I said, but I thought I backed it up reasonably well... until the Super Mutant I was talking to asked me what a "Regulator" was. Well, I explained it... and then the Super Mutant asked me what I was talking about.

I was only good at a few things... Super Mutants know only violence. Sure, I was decent with my deathclaw gauntlets... but they took them away whenever they got me. Now that I AM a deathclaw, I'd be able to pay back the Super Mutants. The idea of revenge brought me back to the land of the living. Milly had the door open, and I ducked to get inside.

-.-

The basement of the Jefferson Memorial was dark, dank, and dangerous. Milly nearly fell down the stairs when we first got in. She caught herself in time, but almost immediately we heard the voice of a Super Mutant.

"Someone there...?"

Milly gulped. Her rifle fell down the stairs, and we could see the shadow of the Super Mutant coming up. Dogmeat bounded down the stairway and I followed. I wanted to help, but Dogmeat already had the Super Mutant by the throat. It doesn't matter how strong you are. If you got caught by Dogmeat in the throat, your story will always be told in the past tense.

The Super Mutant started pushing up daises relatively quickly. Milly took her weapon, but didn't make eye contact with Dogmeat or I. She probably felt stupid or something. Wasn't her fault, though. She slipped on what I can only pray to Jesus was water.

We continued down the stairs, but to our surprise no other Super Mutants were in the room the stairs led to. Maybe there was nothing for them here, or maybe they were smart enough to know how exposed they'd be. I snorted in the air a few times.

"Smell anything?" whispered Milly. I pointed towards a nearby room.

"Let me handle it," I whispered as best I could. Milly stayed behind, but Dogmeat insisted on covering me.

I could see the Super Mutant in what appeared to be an infirmary. He wasn't facing me. I tried to sneak up behind him, but my stealth wasn't what it used to be. My claws clacked against the ground a few times and alerted the Super Mutant to my presence. Even so, he turned slowly- too slowly to see a massive paw heading for his neck.

As a human, wielding deathclaw gauntlets meant a dangerous weapon at the expense of strength. The power behind a human controlled deathclaw gauntlet is severely limited. As a deathclaw, nothing is wasted. All the strength in one of my mutated arms could be expended in each swing... only to return to me as quickly as it is lost. Had I been some type of raider or Talon Company Merc, this kind of power could be used for selfish gain. Sure, I was a thief... but I'd never try to hurt an innocent human being. The definition of "evil" changed since the war. Even the few saints in the world today have stolen a few times.

This kind of power _could_ be used to hurt the world even more, but I was more interested in using it to survive and to protect my companions. (I'm sure the "companion" feeling is mutual. We all know who is in charge here- Milly. I have no problem with that.)

"Found yo- agh!"

I whirled around in time to see another Super Mutant croak with Dogmeat firmly attached to his neck (it was coming for me). He rolled his eyes to me as if to say _"Really?"_

Milly came over to us and took point as we headed downstairs. When we got to the bottom, Milly pointed at me and then to a wall by another hallway. She told Dogmeat to stay back. I moved as quiet as I could over to the wall and waited for whatever she was about to do.

Well, I guess Milly decided that sneaking around searching every room was taking too long. She tip-toed over to the hall and planted a few mines she found lying around a few steps in. After that, she took a fragmentation grenade from a shelf (the Super Mutants liked frag grenades, mines, and assault rifles, though they'll also use bolt-action rifles if they need to. You'll never see a Super Mutant use a pistol. Instead, they'll use boards with nails in them, sledgehammers, etc).

She looked over at me. "Ready?" she whispered. I nodded, covering my ears with my paws.

"Cord wants big boom," I whispered. She smiled, and took to the other corner. She pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it as far into the hall as she could. It easily passed the mines and came to a stop near an intersection.

"Someone there...?" muttered a Super Mutant. The explosion was all the answer they needed. It was a good thing that I covered my ears, because the explosion could've damaged my hearing. Dogmeat was sticking back like Milly asked, so the explosion wasn't as loud for him. I peeked into the hall and saw three Super Mutants running right towards the mines... so I pulled my head back and covered my ears again.

I bet you didn't know this, but Super Mutants make a really fine pastey substance when they get blown to mush. I could feel the primitive part of my mind get all warm and fuzzy at the sight of the hallway now covered in gore. There were two more, though.

Allow me to demonstrate the stupidity Super Mutants share: Two more appeared and were stalking up the hallway. One carried a hunting rifle and the other carried a sledgehammer. Any Regulator, Merc, or plain Wastelander would tell you that if you and a friend have one foe pinned behind cover and another advancing, the one with the gun should kill the advancing enemy while the one relying on melee or close quarters combat should go after the other.

Instead, the Super Mutant with a Hunting Rifle was shooting at Milly (she was hiding behind the wall), while the other (it had a sledgehammer) came after me. Milly fired random shots from the wall to cover me (the armed Super Mutant hid behind a wall). She kept distracting it while the other tried to swing the sledgehammer at me.

I blocked the attack with one arm, catching the handle of the hammer and lessening any damage I could've taken. With my free arm, I raked my claws across the Mutant's torso.

"Stupid monster!" it shouted. I slashed at it again.

"Who are you calling monster?" I shouted back. The Super Mutant managed to hit me with the sledgehammer this time, but we were in such close quarters that I didn't suffer much pain. Milly, meanwhile, accidently hit my foe with a bullet in the leg. Another bullet breezed past my tail.

"Watch it!" I shouted.

"Sorry!"

She kept firing. The Super Mutant I was fighting went to swing again, but it left itself open. I brought one paw up and drove my claws through the Super Mutant's neck with relative ease, sending it backward onto the floor with a heavy "thud".

The Super Mutant managed to shoot me (turns out one stray bullet hit Dogmeat, too). Milly got out from behind cover while I posed my distraction, quickly approaching the green idiot and knocking the hunting rifle out of its grip. Milly quickly got into a good firing position and fired her five remaining .44 bullets into the Super Mutant's torso (one hit its noggin). With her gun empty, she dropped it to the floor and drew her Hunting Rifle (after looting the Mutant for its ammo, of course).

She beckoned for Dogmeat to approach and she examined his wound, first. I snorted in the air a few times to see if there were any more we missed. There was one-

"They killed my brothers! I'm doomed!"

**BOOM!**

...okay, so there were none left. I looked down at Milly and watched as she stroked his head.

"I need to remove the round, boy. Hold still..."

Dogmeat eyed me while Milly set to work on him.

_"You feel any better?"_

I partially nodded. He winced as Milly pulled a bullet loose.

"How about you?" I asked.

_"I don't know about you, but to me it's not the actual shooting that hurts. It's getting the bullet out."_

"Agreed."

"What's he saying?" asked Milly. She took a bottle of whiskey from the floor and poured some into Dogmeat's wound. He didn't even let out a whine when she did that.

"He's just saying that getting the bullet out hurts more than getting it in."

Milly smiled. "We're almost done. No pieces of internal organs attached to it... looks like the bullet hit something you didn't need, boy! Let me just finish up, and then you get to watch me treat Cord!"

Dogmeat licked her face.

_"Seeing that deathclaw in pain is always worth it."_

"Haha... very funny," I muttered. Dogmeat sent a rare smile in my direction.

_"I know."_

"Okay... hold still, boy. You know the drill with these stimpacks."

She pushed the needle into Dogmeat's side and pushed the plunger down. This time, Dogmeat didn't even make a comment on how I whimpered that one time. I didn't complain. He probably forgot to, so why remind him?

Milly wrapped a bandage tightly around Dogmeat's torso and made sure he was okay. He looked at me and made a gesture with his head to my wound (it must've hit my collar bone, because once the adrenaline from the fight wore off, more pain than usual started shooting down my arm). Sure enough, Milly winced when she inspected my wound.

"Ouch, Cord."

Before she pulled the bullet out, she started feeling the bone, pushing on it here and there (it hurt, but I didn't want Dogmeat to have another means of teasing me, so I stayed my tongue). She must've been trying to see if it was broken by how much movement she could get out of it.

"Hmm... no, it's not broken... the bullet must've just bounced off your clavicle... uh oh..."

"What?" I asked. She frowned at me.

"Probably chipped the bone... I'll have to see..."

I got down so Milly could treat me easier, and she started dabbing the blood away from my wound with a rag. She took the tweezers she used to get the bullet out of Dogmeat (she dipped them in that bottle of whiskey) and started working mine out. I stayed silent through the pain. Milly tugged at it with a little more force until it finally popped out. She caught a few small pieces of something with it in her hand, and showed them to me.

"See? That's bone, Cord. If we leave that in there and it goes to your heart, it will kill you."

I blinked. "Is that bad?"

She didn't smile. "This isn't funny. We might be able to do something for you if we can find a means of sucking the chips out. It's either that our full out surgery, and we don't have the resources to do that. We can find a Vaccum cleaner and hook it up to a generator. It will be far from the best treatment, but it'll be better than nothing."

"You're going to take a vaccum cleaner to my internal organs?"

She nodded. "That's the plan! In the meantime... your wound is clotting."

We started moving, all of us looking for any other Super Mutants (though my nose kept telling me there were no more) and also a vaccum cleaner. I also wanted to find some scotch which I would not turn down because I want to be hammered when I do this...

"Isn't that... dangerous?"

She nodded. "Very. For humans. As I recall, you're a deathclaw. Vaccuming chipped bones out of an open wound would be about as bad as sucking some dirt off your arm."

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, alright. I wonder if there's anything good to drink around here..."

She stared at me while we checked the final room.  
>"If you need water, I have plenty-"<p>

"No, the magical water that makes you forget stuff."

"Oh... well, I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know what alcohol would do to you."

I looked at her in irritation.

"What do you mean? I know what it'll do to me: Make me forget that you're going to take a vaccum to my... my..."

"Clavicle."

"Clavicle! That's it..."

Milly stopped and gave me the look. You know. "The look". The one where a woman lets you know that at the end of the conversation, you'll be doing what she wants, or not doing what she doesn't want. Some people may think that the look is a danger only to couples. I respectfully disagree.

"No. No, that's not going to work," I said. "I'm going to find a drink!"

"You're not getting any alcohol," she stated simply. I stared.

"Oh, yes I am."

"No you're not."

"You're wrong," I said. She smiled innocently at me.

"We'll see about that."

...So we went back outside to get the scientists after I admitted to Milly that she was right. I wasn't getting any alcohol. I've been dry since three days before my mutation! While Milly started talking to her Dad, I leaned in to Dogmeat.

"Hey, want to find me a drink?" I whispered. Dogmeat looked up at me, and then out to the water basin not far off from the memorial.

_"There's one."_

"You know what I mean. Any type of whiskey, scotch, vodka- anything of the sort. Can you do that for me?"

Dogmeat nodded.

_"Sure. I _could._"_

There was a pause. I sighed lowly.

"But you won't..."

_"Hey, look who's catching on!"_

"Why not?" I asked. Dogmeat let out a low growl and glared at me.

_"Because Milly said so. Listen to me, you little asshole: She's offering to treat your wounds for you _again._ If I were the human here, I'd have kicked your ass out of our little group a long time ago. Stop complaining like a spoiled kid, and be thankful that she wants to help you."_

I didn't say anything back. He had me there. She saved my life at Paradise Falls and treated the wounds I sustained, so technically she saved my life twice. I saved her _once,_ and she probably still would've managed to escape without me. Did I fail to mention at the time that the ropes binding her were already a little torn?

I let out a breath through my nostrils.

"Well... uhh... this'll be tough to say-"

_"Then allow me to fill it in, and you just repeat it: 'You were right, Dogmeat.'"_

"You were right, Dogmeat," I muttered.

_"'You're always right, Dogmeat.'"_

"You're always right, Dogmeat," I muttered.

_"'You're the best friend a spikey mutated human can have, Dogmeat.'"_

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked. He gave me a look.

_"To answer your question, yes. It amuses me. Now, repeat."_

"You're the best friend a spikey mutated human can have, Dogmeat."

_"'You're also smarter than me, Dogmeat.'"_

"Shut up, you," I muttered. He snorted. I looked down at him again.

"How do I show Milly how much I appreciate her looking out for me?"

_"Well, you could try _saying _it, you fool."_

I looked over at Milly. Her Dad smiled at something she said (I wasn't really listening), and he made some gestures like he were telling her a story. The whole trip to Rivet City was spent with her Dad just... explaining. It was about time they got to catch up a little.

When they were finally done conversing, the scientists started heading for the door. Milly looked up at me. There wasn't any sign of a smile on her face.

"Dad says there's a generator we can use. I think I saw a vaccum cleaner in one of the rooms, too. We'll get what we can out. Your wound has coagulated, so I'm hoping nothing moved yet."

She started heading for the door after her Dad. Dogmeat and I followed.

"Milly?" I asked.

"What?" she answered, pausing at the door but not looking back at me yet. Sheesh, my attitude must've really pissed her off, huh?

"I really do appreciate all that you're doing for me. Don't mind my complaining. I'm just a little nervous, is all."

She opened the door and turned to look at me.

"Is that you trying to say you're sorry?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, and I want you to know how much you mean to me."

"That's a bunch of crap," she said with a smile. I paused for a moment, and nodded.

"Alright, it is. I really _am_ sorry, though. And I do appreciate you keeping me from dying."

Milly grinned at me while she entered the doorway. "Feeling's mutual!"

The thing about her was... yeah, she was deadly to her enemies... but if you wronged her and gave a sincere apology, she'd be willing to forgive and forget. At least, that's what she did for me. As you'll come to know, Milly was a woman of great patience when it came to her companions.

When she set up the vaccum cleaner, she took a few chems and that bottle of whiskey out of her pack. I eyed the whiskey just to try and get on her nerves again. It didn't work.

She poured the whiskey onto the hose of the vaccum and tossed the now empty bottle away.

"If we had time for a surgery, we'd do it. This is probably not going to work, but it's still worth a shot."

We didn't even know if the vaccum could still work. It's been at least 200 years, after all. Milly took a small syringe from a stepstool she was using as a table.

"I'm going to give you some Med-X to block the pain, alright?"

(Med-X is a cute name for morphine).

I stared. "Isn't Med-X a drug?"

Milly started dabbing my wound with a cloth, and took a few drops of whiskey from the vaccum hose to clean a spot on my chest to inject me.

"You're on the air with Med-X and whiskey, go ahead caller."

I smiled. "So, you'll let me have morphine, but not whiskey?"

She grinned (I was hoping for that and not an angry grunt). "You know what whiskey is associated with? You dying later. You know what morphine is associated with? You dying now."

_"Hey, yeah! They give morphine to people who are dying! Nice knowing you, Cord!"_

I must've had a funny look on my face because Milly giggled as she stuck me.

"I'm just joking, Cord. But yeah, I'm only giving you morphine because this might hurt. Don't start asking me for a fix or I'll leave you where the empty syringe drops!"

...hey, I haven't used chems since that one night at Moriarty's! I woke up next to Nova. And Gob.

It's a good thing ghouls are sterile, and that Gob is straight. Also, no offense intended, but I'm not into necrophelia, and I'm not gay, unless you round up from 50%.

I don't think anything happened, anyway. Gob was just as surprised as I was when I asked him about it. The moment I brought it up, Moriarty vanished into his back room. I'd bet anything that the cheeky irish bastard had something to do with it.

Anyway, I don't use chems anymore. That was my first- and last time.

The morphine made my body feel warm, and I could feel my heart start to slow in my chest (morphine lowers the heart rate). It's not that morphine gets rid of your pain... it makes you forget you even had it.

The vaccum actually turned on... but dust was spewing out of the side and it was very, very loud. We could see smoke coming out of it, too, so Milly did what she had to do quickly. My wound had coagulated by now, because she had to actually cut through it with a scalpel quickly before continuing. Once she did, though, my blood started running again. She stuck the hose into my wound and started sucking what she could out. (I must not have any arteries or important blood vessels there. She wouldn't have done it if I did).

The morphine kind of just sent me off into la-la land while she did what she was doing. I didn't say anything; just kept thinking of random things. Every now and then I'd feel a little bit of pain, but it was potent morphine. One syringe shouldn't have been enough for me.

Before I knew it, she said she was done. By then, the vaccum was billowing a lot of smoke, and she quickly shut it off and unplugged it. After that, she gave me a stimpack (when we arrived at the Science Lab, Doctor Li gave Mil a decent-sized case of stimpacks. I just didn't realize it until now, because I was out of it the entire time at the Science Lab).

The headache didn't even bother me that much because of the morphine. Milly held a cloth on my wound to stop the bleeding again, and once it slowed down (the stimpack helped), she dressed it a little, and we were off to meet her Dad.

T.T

I don't remember the entire conversation with James, but I do know that he was very proud of her for disarming Megaton's bomb. I was, too. That's got to be the coolest thing I think anybody's done for the world in over 200 years.

I vaguely recall asking her how difficult it was to disarm the thing, to which she replied "I lost 5 years of my life staring at that bomb's innards." Simms better be grateful.

James sent Milly, Dogmeat, and I back down to the basement to do some repairs. (Milly would do the repairs and Dogmeat and I could cheer her on).

He had her do little things here and there: Seal a few leaking pipes, sweep some dirt out of one room, replace some fuses, activate a mainframe- those sorts of things.

And Milly didn't even complain once. In fact, I could see by the look on her face that she was very happy to be around her Dad again. I liked him, too. He found little things Dogmeat and I could do- kill a few Radroaches in some rooms, sniff out any remaining leaks, those things. He was thinking of his daughter as well as this project.

We were having a lot of fun doing these things, too. Milly had the radio tuned in, and we were listening to great classics. I didn't even mind when the Med-X wore off and my wound throbbed. Dogmeat and I would converse as we did whatever we were doing, and when James had nothing for us, we'd help Milly in any way we could, but "any way we could" was typically by providing company.

We'd talk about random things (I'd translate for Dogmeat), and we'd have a real good time...

...and then the good times came to an end.

Her Dad had asked for her to go to a pipeline and turn a pressure valve. Dogmeat and I couldn't follow her because she had to climb into a grate. I couldn't get through, and Dogmeat wouldn't be able to get out without help. So... we stayed behind. Her Dad assured us it was safe, and I believed him. The grate was too small for a Super Mutant to fit through, and I don't think they'd have any intention of getting in there, anyway.

We were waiting for a few minutes when we started to hear whirring. For a few seconds, I thought the Purifier was online. I almost jumped with happiness, and I think Dogmeat made the same mistake... until we heard James on the intercom.

"Everyone, we have company. I don't know who they are or what they want. Remain calm, I'll see what I can do about it."

Dogmeat nudged me.

_"We'd better get out of sight. Let's hide in the basement until this blows over."_

I nodded. "Right."

Despite my inability to grab the handle of the door, I managed to kick it in. Dogmeat ran inside and I followed, shutting it behind me. We waited at the bottom of the staircase. I saw Milly poke her head out from a pipe from my 12 o'clock high. She jumped down and I could hear footsteps as she ran to another stairway.

I also heard the door upstairs open and shut. When I turned around, I saw black armor, a black helmet, and a laser pistol.

It was the Enclave. The Enclave is Post-War America's self-proclaimed "Federal Government", but for a while, I thought it was a bunch of nerdy teens who found a radio set and started a station. After I got shot at by them, I knew they were serious.

"Holy- Weapons hot!"

The Enclave soldier started shooting at me, but as a deathclaw I've gained some kind of... interesting gift. Laser Rifles like the one this guy was using don't hurt that much. It kind of feels like the sun being focused onto random parts of my body. I could've basked in the laser rifle and got a nice tan, but I was still pissed at the Enclave for my mutation. I killed the soldier with relative ease.

I felt no remorse. I glared at the dead man and Milly started heading up the stairs.

"Come on, let's go see my Dad!"

Dogmeat started to follow her, and I did, too, after glaring at the Enclave asshole for a few more seconds.

When we got back to the main floor, there was another Enclave soldier waiting. His weapon was in better condition, so the shots I got from him kind of felt like having a lit cigarette dug into your skin. Before I could react, Milly took him down with a clean shot to the head. Should've worn your helmet, asshole...

Those were the only Enclave soldiers we ran into at first. Seeing the hostility sent Milly rushing for the door to Project Purity.

When she flung it open, we followed her up the stairs, and looked inside the dome at James. An emergency door was closed, trapping James, two Enclave soldiers, what I assumed was John Henry Eden, and another scientist inside. Milly ran to the bulkhead and stared through it at her father. He didn't look at her.

"This facility is now under Enclave control. You are hereby ordered to relinquish all items relating to this program at once."

"Right, well-"

"Furthermore, you are to assist Enclave scientists in activating this facility. The leader of this operation must step forward now."

"Colonel... is it Colonel? I assure you that this facility will not function, and the Enclave has no jurisdiction here. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The Colonel (he wasn't Eden after all) put a hand on a pistol and stepped forward. I glared. Still, though, he made no move to pull the gun and shoot James.

"Am I to assume, sir, that you are in charge of this operation?"

James gave a slight nod.

"Then I repeat, sir, hand over all materials relating to this facility at once."

"Colonel, this facility will not function. I'm afraid you're wasting your time here. It never worked, and it never has."

The Colonel drew his gun but let it hang by his side. He kept it pointed at the floor.

"This is the last time I'm going to repeat myself. Stand down at once, sir. Do you understand?"

"Colonel, we've never been able to replicate test results. There's nothing for you-"

The Colonel brought up his gun and for a minute I thought I could break through the glass and kill him, but the glass was bullet resistant and laminated. I'd never get through. He wasn't shooting James, though. He shot the helpless scientist that stood next to James.

She hit the ground with a clank and writhed around for a little while, clutching her bleeding wound. After a few seconds, her struggling slowly stopped, and she became forever still.

"Oh, you fucking coward!" Milly and I shouted at the same time. The Colonel made no move to show that he heard us. The gun was by his hip again.

"Do we have an understanding, sir?"

"Yes, Colonel," said James through clenched teeth. "There's no need for further violence. I'll do as you ask."

"Then you will bring this facility online at once."

James turned away from the Colonel.

"Very well, just give me a few moments to activate it."

The Colonel holstered his weapon and seemed to let his guard down a little. He eyed James for a few moments.

"My patience wears thin," he warned. James put a hand up.

"Just give it a moment," he plainly said.

Suddenly a loud "BOOM!" echoed through Project Purity. The Geiger Counter in Milly's Pip-Boy started ticking, and an alarm started blaring. We all stumbled back in surprise. The two Enclave soldiers the Colonel brought with him fell to the ground. James was the only one who managed to stay standing. The Colonel brought a syringe of something to his arm and he fell forward. James trudged towards the bulk head and put his hand on it. Milly was pounding on it the whole time.

"Run..." he croaked. He fell to his knees, making eye contact with Milly one more time.

"Run!"

With those words, he fell to his side, and I could see the life drain from his eyes. Milly kept pounding on the bulk head.

"Dad!" she shrieked. "Cord, open the door! Break it! Dogmeat, help him! Do something, please!"

"No!" shouted Doctor Li. "If you break the bulk head, the radiation will kill us all. We have to go. We have to go. Now."

"No, I'm not leaving my father in there!" shouted Milly. I could see tears on her eyes. I felt a strong pang of sadness for her.

"It's too late," said Doctor Li. "The radiation levels in there are lethal. You'd die the same way he did. We have to get out of here now, or his death will have been for nothing."

Milly looked at her Dad's still body for a few moments, and I could see her blink back a few tears. She nodded.

"Fine," she whispered. "Let's go, guys."

We slowly walked off, following Doctor Li out of the room. I couldn't believe it.

James was dead.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>9, 979 words.<strong>

**I just like hurting Cord. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe I should kneecap him next...**

**MRI stands for "Magnetic Resonance Imaging". The machine is a lot like a giant magnet, so if you swallowed a spoon and got into an MRI, you'd be giving a C-Section to the spoon whether you wanted to or not. **

**PET stands for "Positron Emission Tomography". It uses a small dose of radioactive glucose to see which parts of the brain become active under different circumstances.**

**Cord is bisexual because I wanted to use that "rounding up from 50%" line.**

**Here's Cord's Tag skills, in case you're wondering: Melee, Speech, and Sneak. I'm obviously not going to use "level up" or "SPECIAL" openly in the story. That's just for your convenience.**

**Don't ask about that tribal thing. Just imagine some random guy dancing around Megaton's Bomb, chanting "Huyuhyuhyuhyuhyuhyuhyuh Huyuhyuhyuhyuhyuhyuhyuh" while dressed like he's about to perform a ritualistic killing. I don't know if I like that part because it means Cord's an idiot, or if it's because that's me dancing around the bomb.**

**See where I'm going with this one yet? Really?**

**Next chapter covers the escape from the Enclave and a bunch of other crap.**


	9. The Devil's Advocate

**Chapter 7**

**The Devil's Advocate**

* * *

><p><strong>"Life, no matter how stressful, is not bad, even for just a minute."<strong>

**-John Paul Larkin**

* * *

><p>We knew the Enclave was closing in, and the numbers could have been endless. Milly, as good a fighter as she was, would not last long against an entire army, and neither would Dogmeat or myself. We'd all be quickly slaughtered the moment we opened fire... but Doctor Li had an idea of where to go. She, with the remaining two scientists, led Milly to a manhole.<p>

...Oh, that is unfortunate on _so many levels._ The manhole... the humans could obviously get in, no problem. Dogmeat could jump down, too. I couldn't fit. I didn't even bother. Doctor Li looked frantically between Milly and I. She unlocked the manhole.

"I'm sorry, but your deathclaw will have to find another way."

"I'm not leaving him, too," Milly said, her voice empty. I felt a pang of sadness for her. Poor girl...

"We don't have time for this," said one of the scientists (I never got his name). "Any minute now, the Enclave will find us here. We have to move."

"No, I'll find another way," said Milly. I put my paw out to stop her.

"No, you go. I'll figure another way out of here."

She stared at me. I could see tears in her eyes from losing her father start trying to leak down her face.

"You'll die!" she said. I snorted.

"I'm not jumping in the way of any projectiles or anything. Don't worry about me. Where does this tunnel lead, Doctor?"

"To the Citadel. You know, that Brotherhood of Steel base. Rendevous with us there."

I nodded. "I'll do that. Milly, you just worry about getting through these tunnels. Now, go."

She started backing up towards the manhole (the scientists were already climbing down). I heard footsteps coming up from the basement.

"Go now!" I said. With those words, Milly and Dogmeat vanished into the manhole, and with them, Doctor Li. She pulled the manhole cover overhead and I heard a lock click. I snorted, and turned towards the exit.

I knew I probably wasn't going to get far, but I was going to try. If I was going to die... I'd try to take a bunch of them down with me. So, I ran to the door.

I plowed through one unsuspecting Enclave soldier (I think he was a rookie). He screamed and curled into a fetal position on the floor. I didn't waste time. I put all my strength to pushing open the door to the outside.

Almost immediately, I found myself being shot at by Enclave soldiers. I made the mistake of saying something.

"I'll see you all in hell!" I shouted while running. The gunfire stopped right away. I kept running with a smirk on my face, staring at the dumbfounded Enclave soldiers... and for a minute... I thought I was going to make it.

My God, I was going to make it! I was... until I ran smack into some kind of force field they put up. It must've been a temporary one because I broke through (anyone can break through a temporary force field, human or not. The problem is... most humans are electrocuted and killed instantly, as are most animals). If it were the kind that doesn't get removed, they'd have to clean deathclaw off of it. I should've been watching where I was going.

I felt a familiar surge of water rushing under my skin and I lost all control of my muscles. I felt my heart skip a few times as I hit the ground. Suddenly, it stopped.

I found myself on my back, and consciousness was fading fast. Through the water rushing in my ears, I could make out footsteps. Enclave soldiers surrounded and stared down at me.

I think I can safely say that I felt the same way Custer did in his last moments. Still, I tried to remain tough, and I stared back. An Enclave officer (not the Colonel) approached and stared down at me.

"Well, well... a talking deathclaw? I thought this world was rid of your type... but you useless vermin just won't stay dead, will you?"

I said nothing back. I no longer felt my legs and arms. The Enclave Officer drew a laser pistol from his side and aimed it at my head. I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

_How pathetic. You're a disgrace to your kind._

"I should kill you right now, you know... have you say hello to Gruthar in hell for me."

I stared him down, feeling relief flood into my veins. Typically, when the bad guy uses that line, it means you're not going to be killed. Yet.

Sure enough, he holstered his weapon.

"...but I think the President would like to know more about you. He has been asking us to bring back the Lone Wanderer's big ugly pet for a while now. Sergeant Ramirez, prepare my Vertibird for transport."

"Yes, Major."

"Corporal Willis, you and your squad are responsible for loading this beast onto it. And mind the paint job, I don't want his claws scratching it."

"Yes, Major."

I saw Major Anonymous slowly start walking away, and then my consciousness left me.

0.o

I felt the sadness weighing down my heart. It was almost a burning feeling, at it's worst the moment he fell to the floor inside that chamber. Next, the doctor tells us that we have to move immediately, and that Cord has to find another way.

I worried. I was able to make out his voice, along with gunfire outside, but I didn't think he actually died. I would've heard more human screams if he was dying.

I had no time to dwell on my emotions. The scientists needed urgent help getting to this "Citadel". To let them down meant letting him down...

I was running by the moment my feet hit the ground. Everyone knew that this was going to be a difficult trip. The problem was... we didn't know what was ahead.

"Don't run ahead, we're going to need you," said the Doctor.

"Excuse me?"

"We can't split up like that. If you want us to stay back for a second, say so. If not, we have to move."

"Are any of you good with a gun?"

Nobody volunteered a hand. I let out a sigh through my nostrils.

"...someone has to help me. I doubt Dogmeat and I can do this all alone."

There wasn't much movement among the scientists... until one man (I think the Doctor called him 'Daniel') stepped up.

"You have a handgun I can use?"

"Yes, here. It's not much, but take this. It's a Beretta Tomcat."

Daniel inspected the tiny gun in his hands a few times. He took a few bullets for it and sighed.

"It'll have to do. Let's get out of here."

Right away, we started moving. I bounded forward to look for any hostiles, but all I found were feral ghouls- easily dispatched by my teeth. I ignored the sadness I felt for my human while we were in the tunnels, and she started assisting more and more. My movements were telling her that she had to focus on surviving now. I'd be there for her as soon as we were done, though.

Her Dad's death hurt me, but not in a way one might think. Rather than have extreme sadness at his passing, I felt the sadness for my human. She should not have to feel like this; should not have to lose her family. She's done so much good for this world... shouldn't the world be giving something back?

I guess it was giving something back... but all it was giving her was garbage. She deserved happiness with her Dad... but instead here we were, bounding through tunnels preparing for death at every corner.

My ears perked up when I heard something that wasn't a feral ghoul. I stopped short, and could hear footsteps in a nearby room. I knew it wasn't a ghoul because it was a clanging sound, and ghouls make a pattering sound when they walk or run.

One of those black-armored tin men (what the humans called the "Enclave". I like "tin man" better) stepped out of the room and noticed me relatively quickly. I didn't manage to dodge in time, and he fired the gun (I think it's called a "Lay-zer pistol") at me.

The beam passed through one of my ears, actually drilling a hole through it. It was the worst pain I think I've ever endured. I have been shot by the Lay-zer weapons before, but never there. It was a sharp burning sensation... like a red-hot knife being slowly pressed through my poor ear. After it happened, I could feel the blood running down my face and the back of my head.

Luckily, Milly managed to take the tin man out before he tried to shoot my other ear. I bit back the pain. It had to wait until we got to where we were going.

Milly looked down at me to make sure I was okay, and she teared up some more when she saw my ear. I licked her hand so she knew I was okay, and ran into the room, tackling another tin man and biting at his throat. I usually hated doing this, especially since most humans were nice and gave me food and attention... but these humans didn't deserve to be humans. They deserved to be small roaches. They survived the apocalypse, but nobody knows how or why.

My mind flashed back to my old human for a moment. When he fell to those other bad humans (raiders), I made myself the two-part promise:

First of all, I had to kill those raiders for revenge. Second, I swore that I would give my life to protect my next human. I would've given it to protect him, too... but I...

...

...I thought I saw a pussy cat. Turns out, it was a resting bloatfly. When I get back, I see my human being shot at. He got some shots off, but... when he did, they managed to kill him.

I wouldn't let a pussy cat distract me from Milly, though. Not even if I actually did see one. I hate when she tells me to wait somewhere... it feels bad when I'm not protecting her. I know that she does that to protect _me_... and that isn't right. I have to protect her. That's the way it's supposed to go.

So, when she told me to stay behind for a minute with the scientists, I refused. She started walking to another door, and I followed.

"No, Dogmeat. Stay! Stay..."

She kept moving, and I kept following.

"Bad Dogmeat! Stay with the scientists!"

I nudged her with my snout. She turned to look at me.

"Dogmeat-"

She stopped talking and looked at me in the eyes. I knew she couldn't understand what I would have tried to say to her... but she knew what my eyes were saying. She sniffled and wrapped her arms around me.

"Okay, boy. You can come with me. Be careful, though."

I licked her again, and we were off. This time, though... I was leading her through the dangerous corridor. That's how it's supposed to be.

In the next room, there were three tin men, and they had their weapons trained on me. Most of their frantic attacks missed, but the few that hit I ignored, my fury towards them re-ignited. They took the life of my human's Dad, and now they wanted to take her? Over my dead body.

My body blocked out any pain I could've felt. I didn't even panic as one tin man tried to cut through me with an electric saw. I know he hit my side, but he didn't even manage to get through the hair before Milly blew his head clean with what she called "Bolt" (it was a rifle).

The room was quickly cleared. That's how we survived. I would bound forward, dodging attacks to the best of my ability, and when it got too hot for me, she'd attack from another angle.

We had a few of the tin men surrender, actually... but Milly's despair was replaced with fury, however temporarily. She showed no mercy. She even took to removing "dog tags" from the tin men so they could not be identified. One of the bad humans wasn't a tin man, but a sort of... poofy looking man. He wore these beige fabrics and a hat, not a helmet. When we put him down, Milly took his hat as a trophy. Like collecting the dog tags, collecting hats from these fallen devils would become a habit of hers.

However, the presence of the tin men increased as we slowly reached the end of the tunnels. Milly had to defend the scientists from tin men in one room, and I couldn't help because they were all up high.

Instead, I opted to run into the room and move all around, trying to draw the fire of all the tin men.

There's an old saying my old human used to use: "Too many cooks spoil the broth". One day, when he felt really lonely, he decided to talk to me about it. He said that it meant "too many people mess up even the best laid plan". It is also said that even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. In this case, the "Enclave" had a decent plan: Take the big water cleaner Milly's Dad was making, activate it, likely exterminate all the original scientists- Milly included, and distribute water for their own selfish gain. However... there were too many men.

One would shout "kill the dog!" The other would shout "No, that's what they want!"

Their shooting became very sloppy. With each one barking a new order, nobody knew who to shoot at. Because of the turmoil, the tin men didn't manage to even injure any of us. Milly threw in an exploding ball after calling me back.

...The explosion was different but it hurt my ears nonetheless. It was quick, but for a few seconds I couldn't hear anything other than a high pitch ringing. When I finally shook it off, the room was quiet. I peeked inside.

Though there was one explosion, it killed all the remaining tin men. I know the exploding ball Milly threw into the room was different than most, but I forget what she called it. It was very effective against tin men, so I took to calling it the "Special Ball". It lived up to the name I gave it, that's for sure.

The tin men must not have expected us to put up such a fight, because we carved through their forces without losing a scientist... until we got past them.

One of the scientists pointed forward. "That way! Lyons better take us in..."

Milly wordlessly kept walking through the next door- and was quickly knocked down by a feral ghoul. It started clawing at her chest as if to rip her heart out, but she was wearing some strong armor (she called it "kom-bat armor"). The feral didn't get a chance to swipe again, because I pushed my weight into him and started to rip him to shreds.

But... when I fell that one ghoul, five more took its place. Even after our combined efforts took those five down, ten more showed up... and they kept coming. Milly gave the order to run, but I wanted to stay and fight- until she shouted out for me. My mind told me not to die here; not to leave her alone in the wastes when she needed me the most. I followed her.

Even though feral ghouls can move quickly, they were still smart enough to try and avoid bullets. Milly was shooting at them while she ran, keeping them at bay. I cringed when I heard the man Milly gave a gun to scream as he was killed. Feral ghouls rip people to shreds and will eat them once in a while. They're easy enough to kill, but in large numbers they can be a big problem. I also remember seeing some very strong ghouls; one of which actually almost cost me my life. That was back when I was with my other human, though.

I felt one ghoul run his claws through my back when I slowed to make a turn. I couldn't whirl around and attack or I'd be outnumbered. Instead, I ignored it and sped up again. Milly's continued gunfire kept the ghouls away from her and anyone in front of her. We made sure the other scientists were in front of us.

The scientists opened one door and almost immediately I saw red beams of light hitting the feral ghouls. I could hear guns firing, too. The pursuing ghouls all dropped dead after a few shots from each. Once they died, all was silent.

I turned to look at who saved us and saw some more tin men- but these tin men were different. They weren't in black like the ones we had to fight through. Rather, they were in grey and they didn't smell as bad.

"What are you doing down here, outsider? Take the stairs at the back of this corridor. Get topside, immediately."

The scientists led us through the corridor to a stairwell that took us up to the surface again. I was uneasy about where we were going. You see, I didn't exactly trust the new tin men all the way yet. I thought they were secretly helping the bad tin men. I felt like we'd all go up the stairs the surface and be surrounded by them. My heart was racing as we approached the door to the outside. Then... one of the scientists opened the door. I braced myself for another fight...

...but the fight did not come. Before us was a big building (it looked like a hunk of metal) guarded by two grey tin men. One did not acknowledge us. He just... kept staring straight ahead (we were off to his left). The other eyed us. The doctor started walking towards a speaker (Milly says it's an intercom). Milly herself... she walked towards the one tin man that acknowledged us.

"What is this place?" was the first thing she asked. The tin man eyed all of us while he spoke.

"This is the Citadel, the Brotherhood of Steel's base in the D.C. area."

"Can we come in?"

"That's a negative. No civilians in the cit-"

"Lyons! I know you can hear me! You open this damn door right now! What are you waiting for? Get off your ass and open it!"

I could tell the tin man Milly was talking to was about to say something, but the wall of metal behind him started rising. He turned partially to acknowledge it. It made a low screeching noise as it rose, and while Milly and the other humans didn't seem bothered, it hurt my ears.

I tried to ignore it, because I had a feeling of dread. Did that idiot Cord make it? They... didn't shoot him, did they? As tough as a deathclaw can be, they don't last long against most tin men. I started sniffing, trying to pick up his scent, but I didn't find it. I couldn't find any signs on the earth that he'd been around (I'd see footprints and, most likely, pieces of claws. He had a habit of biting his nails when he wasn't moving).

It didn't look like he was around. I went to look up at Milly, and could see that she was worried, too. She didn't think those tin men at the water cleaner killed him, did she?

For their sake, they better not have. They already took her Dad. If they took a companion of hers... she'd probably hunt them down and blow them up or something.

"Come on. We have to talk to Lyons," said the doctor. Milly came back to reality and nodded, sending a glance all around one more time. As she went to pass the guard she spoke to, she leaned towards him.

"Have you seen my-"

"That deathclaw? Nah. Maybe he got sick of following you, or maybe he's still on his way. Don't worry, we won't engage him unless he engages us."

Milly nodded while she continued.

"Okay, thanks..."

We walked into this "Citadel", and I started sniffing around, trying to see if there was anything I could eat or drink. All I could smell was mildew, dust, sweat, and guns. Lots... and lots of guns. I didn't pay much attention to the words exchanged between the tin men and our little group.

The Citadel was more of a courtyard than anything. On several walls I could see doors that led deeper into the complex. Many of these "Brotherhood" guys were training: Shooting, punching, exercising, moving. I could see a few guys shooting at each other, but the guns they were using were shooting balls of blue stuff (I saw one reloading nearby).

When I finally brought my attention back to Milly, she nodded twice at the man in the black robes. He gave a slight bow, and gestured towards a door straight across the courtyard.

"You have had a long day. Go through that door to Room #666. The Paladin that owns the room is out on a mission. He won't be back for a few days. Rest there. We'll deliver your... ahem, _companion_ to you should he show up."

Milly partially nodded again, and wordlessly headed off. I could see tears forming in her eyes again. She couldn't hold it in much longer. We walked across the courtyard, and I was staring up at her the entire time. She stared straight ahead, not even acknowledging those who welcomed her or those who wanted to shun her. She finally started to look around some when we got in the door the man in the robes pointed us to. I could see the numbers running through her head: 669, 668, 667...

"Here it is," she said under her breath. She opened the door to a small room and let me inside, then she shut it behind her. She pushed a little button in the middle of the doorknob and looked around the room.

The room offered little comfort. It had a bed, a small chair, coffee table, a desk, and a bookshelf. All these things were cramped into what may have once been an office in whatever building this was before the war. The only things to provide comfort were the bed and a picture hanging above it, and even that picture was questionable. It was a photo of one of the tin men, and under it were a few simple lines (I've seen this picture before with my old human. He read it out loud and scoffed every time. I didn't get it.)

"We see all. We know all. **Say NO to espionage.**"

I heard a sniffle, and then heard the bed creak as she sat down on it. The rifle she was holding since the underground tunnels clattered to the ground. I saw a tear land on the butt end of the rifle.

I felt that pang of sadness well up inside me again. Now, we were safe. It was time for her to let it out.

"This really sucks, Dogmeat," she said through her sobs. "My Dad's dead, Project Purity is being held by the Enclave, and Cord's probably dead, too..."

She sniffled. I put my head on her lap and looked up at her face. I blinked when a tear landed on my nose.

"I came out here from that Vault all because of my Dad. I fought tooth and nail to get him back... and- and now..."  
>She was interrupted by more sobbing. She fell to one side and let herself cry into the musty pillow.<p>

I couldn't let her feel alone in this condition, so I jumped onto the bed and lay down next to her, allowing her to bury her face in my fur. I licked the top of her head a few times and settled my muzzle on it. Tears ran down my cheeks, too.

I remember we stayed like that for a long while. Milly started playing a recording on the device on her wrist. She played it all the way through the first time, but from there on, she just kept playing the end. It was her Dad's voice.

_"...Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you... Goodbye. I love you..."_

I remember mentally cursing our difference in species. She couldn't hear what I said, so I was forced to be the silent companion that let her cry into his fur.

"I love you, Dogmeat!" she cried. "I love you... you're all I've got left... please don't ever leave."

I nuzzled the top of her head affectionately. Of course I won't leave her. It's my job to guard her until death.

I've always hated when good humans cry. The good people didn't deserve bad things. They deserved all the best that the world has to offer, and while that isn't much lately... it should be reserved to people like Milly... she should be laughing with her Dad, walking back to her home in that bomb-town, and Cord and I should be with her, teasing each other all the way back...

So why was she stuck here, listening to the only remnant of her father crying into the fur of a creature that can't respond to her? Hell, she deserves a monument. Some think that she isn't all that radio man makes her out to be, but he's accurate with every nickname he gives her. I've heard a lot: "Vault Martyr, Sentinel, Shephard," and my favorite: "The last, best hope of humanity".

Why must the good suffer? Is that really the name of the game? You're bad? Here, take all this food, water, and be secure, too. Oh, you're _good_? Sit and take it as life throws misfortune at you.

I wasn't able to stop her crying. She fell asleep crying, but had turned away. I put my head down, too. She was using me as a source of warmth, and I didn't mind one bit. We stayed close the entire night... but I was wondering where Cord was. I really didn't think he was dead, and I know he'd want to be there to comfort her, too.

Where are you, Cord?

C.O

"Wake up, boy."

_Hey... open your eyes._

My head pounded.

"Young man... wake up."

_What did I just say? Open your eyes!_

I gradually retrieved control of my limbs.

"Seems like you're coming to... Open your eyes now."

Wait a minute... I know that voice...

"Major, he is unharmed, yes?"

"Of course, sir. As per your wishes."

My eyes opened, and for a moment I was blinded by bright lights. The brilliant lights made my head pound even more.

"Ah, you're awake. At long last. Major, please go to the mess hall and get yourself a drink. You've earned one."

President Eden! Agh, what did I do to deserve _this_ unpleasantry?

"Thank you, sir."

I could hear his footsteps clanging away from me. My eyes gradually adjusted to the light, but my head still hurt. I knew I had been captured by the Enclave, but I couldn't quite understand just why I was... unbound. Weren't the soldiers worried that I'd kill their precious President?

I finally sat up and looked ahead of me at a big supercomputer. The screen almost appeared to be... watching me.

"Alone at last," said President Eden's voice. I frowned the best I could. Figures he'd hide behind a computer...

"What do you want?"

"To meet you, dear boy. I've... heard of you on that other radio station."

"Yes, the one that calls your bluffs when you deliver them? The one that belittles you and reveals to the citizens of the wasteland the lying bastard that you are?

"Well, I certainly don't agree with what that man says, but our country does have an amendment right to free speech. He's entitled to his opinion."

"Right, just like that defunct "Chatterbox" radio station. Your soldiers killed its host when he started talking about you."

"You have to understand. Lazlow... he was a threat to our country. I had to have him killed. National security."

I almost laughed.

"National security? Let me ask you something, Mr. President: What country? Look around you. You... _do know_ there was this little atomic war around 200 years ago, right?"

"Please understand. Yes, our country has been nearly destroyed by atomic fire... but it is still America. I am still American. The government is still here. You are still an American citizen."

I blinked. "Me? I'm a deathclaw, Eden. Not a citizen."

I could swear that the President laughed a little at me. He made me want to go on a rampage and kill everything in this place.

"Oh, dear boy... don't lie to friends."

"Now we're friends?"

"Very well, how about... allies?"

"Now we're _allies?_ You and I are on very different pages."

"Listen, I ran the numbers. I personally checked files regarding the talking deathclaws ten times. There was only one left when they were destroyed. Even if he mated and more filled our lands... they are states away. Why would one break away from a pack? Ah, and Autumn also removed data from our Vault Dweller's father. I do apologize for what went on there. I assure you the Colonel is being spoken to appropriately. He should not have caused such pain to a patriot like Miss 101."

"Yeah, let me speak to him. I'll show him what pain is all about," I mumbled.

"As I was saying, The data he found were related to your blood... and his notes suggested that he believed there was a connection between humans and deathclaws... of course, there is no such thing. My scientists ran your blood while you were unconscious. I already suspected something was amiss... this data confirms it. You're no deathclaw. You're human. You're as human as the girl you wander with and lie to. You're as human as James was."

"Enough, Eden. Knock it off before I pull you through this damned computer screen and show you where you can shove this 'data'."

"Oh, spare me the barbaric threats. Admit it. You and I both know that you aren't a deathclaw."

I couldn't let myself look shocked in front of this asshole. The most I allowed was a shiver.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Well, allow me to explain to you just how deathclaws were created. They were created before the war from what were called "Jackson's Chameleons". Scientists, intent on creating durable soldiers for the army, injected a few of these chameleons with the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV. It was a virus to do as the name implies: Force evolution to occur."

I crossed my arms. "So, these chameleons... had they not been injected, they'd eventually become deathclaws?"

"Over millions of years. The FEV causes evolution _now._"

Finally, I became somewhat interested. "Then... how did I end up as I am?"

"A while ago, I received reports of a human running into what is called "Deathclaw Sanctuary" armed with deathclaw gauntlets on each hand. The soldiers he encountered had orders to kill anyone not affiliated with the Enclave on sight. He fled into the Deathclaw Sanctuary and never came out. My soldiers believed he was dead... until one squad sent to investigate the Sanctuary found his destroyed clothes, a Geiger Counter, and a few things he'd looted. For a moment, they believed he was ripped apart... but his gauntlets were gone. Anyone foolish enough to go that far into the Sanctuary without proper radiation protection is suicidal. It is easy to lose your way... so... who would take the gauntlets from this boy's body? Moreover, why leave behind an intact FN P90?"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I was getting to it. None of my scientists can figure it out. We know you didn't just... transform for no reason. You're not that special. The most supported hypothesis we have is a form of radiation exposure."

I blinked. "That's the best you've got? Radiation? I've been exposed to it since... always!"

"Have you always been wearing deathclaw gauntlets?"

I was silent. Eden continued.

"My scientists hypothesize that the radiation particles had an effect on the DNA left in the Deathclaw Gauntlets and the DNA in your body. The deathclaw cells, which contained its DNA, found a way into your body. The cells latched onto several of your own and acted as a virus from there on, sending copies of the DNA it had into your natural cells. Your cells kept some of their original codes: You can still speak, and think rationally... but the deathclaw DNA had a harsh effect. You likely passed out... and your body mutated, making you as you are now."

I stared for a few long moments.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," I said. Eden let out a sigh.

"I admit it's far-fetched."

"Far-fetched? It's just plain stupid!"

"It is the only probable explanation, though."

"How would I survive that?" I asked. "Most people die or become ghouls. Why did I survive and become... this?"

"Simple: Luck. Very, very good luck. The odds of you dying from prolonged exposure to radiation were 1,999,999,997 to 3. Of 2,000,000,000 people... only 3 would survive such a bombardment of radiation. 1 of those people would die later, the second would become a ghoul, and the third... would become you. You were simply incredibly lucky."

"Lucky?" I asked. "Look at me. I'm a monster. I can't show myself to my parents anymore. I can't tell a friend what I really am... I'd rather be dead if this is what you consider "lucky", Eden!"

"You are lucky..."

"By mutation?"

"Not mutation, dear boy... This is... evolution!"

I stared.

"Don't you see? The Enclave has been searching for obedient deathclaws for years... deathclaws that cannot question orders, but can carry them out. All we have are mind-controlled deathclaws, and even those can only get so far from a control-frequency broadcaster before dying. Your... evolution... if we can find a way to replicate it, find a way to make it occur more often... we can create super soldiers."

"You want to send your soldiers to their grizzly deaths? Be my guest. Now, let me go. I want to catch up to my friends."

"You have not heard my proposition yet," said Eden. I groaned.

"Do you ever stop talking?" I asked. He ignored me.

"You seem... troubled. It seems like you do not enjoy your new form."

I turned back to the super computer.

"You figure that out on your own? You're a freaking genius."

"What if I told you... that I can reverse it; that I can treat it?"

My breath caught up in my throat, but I kept my composure.

"Treat it? You can?"

"Of course. See, my scientists have been working on something to counter Super Mutant population. Since they are created by human exposure to FEV, we've been working on the FRV- Forced Regression Virus. It does as the name implies: destroys certain genetic codes that cause mutations. It's highly experimental, and we have yet to make a permanent dose."

I kept staring. "This... FRV. It would... cure me?"

"Not cure!" Eden hastily mentioned. "Treat. A cure means we can 100% fix your mutation. The FRV we currently have is only a temporary fix. It would only delete so much of the genetic code making you as you are... but cells reproduce. Over the course of a few days, you'd simply revert to what you are now... unless you keep it in check."

"I feel a deal coming," I grumbled. Eden continued as if I never spoke.

"If you serve us... serve the Enclave, I will treat you. No, you don't have to be a soldier, you don't have to be a scientist... but we need your friend from the Vault for something. If you can promise to find her and bring her here... we'll treat you."

My heart skipped a beat. Here was the President that I hated so much (well, he was behind the computer)... he killed Milly's father, he hurt the land... it was every Government's unwillingness to play nicely that caused the Great War... He was offering me a chance at my old life again... Just to find Milly? I knew where she was going... but... she saved my life.

I can't hurt her. I slowly started to shake my head... when a panel below the computer opened up and a small syringe held by a robotic arm hovered towards my chest.

"She will be unharmed," assured Eden. "We simply need to ask her some questions."

I stared at the needle... so close... my humanity. I stared at it, and then looked back at Eden.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked. I slowly nodded.

"We have a deal."

The syringe broke my skin.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>6,258 words.<strong>

**Yeah, it's not the best explanation for Cord's mutation, but it beats the hell out of "You're the chosen one" or "You're special", or whatever some writers will use on OCs. Tried to make it scientific, probably failed. Gave it a shot, though. Hope it sounded more or less convincing.**

**You still feel for Cord? Still like him? He just sided with the enemy. Yeah, great guy.**

**I had a "diskette drive 0 seek failure" today. It said there was a "thermal event". This is the second time it's happened. Last time was in June. It basically means the computer overheated and shut down. Last time, I was on Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels, dead in the water on one chapter. After the fact, I got my ass in gear. Now, I was dead in the water on Beneath This Gruff Exterior, and... I got my ass in gear. Hope I don't see one of those again.**

**Next chapter covers the search of Vault 87. Oh, and Cord. And I'm pretty sure Dogmeat's in on this one, too. If I need to, I'll probably be writing from his POV again because it keeps things interesting.**


	10. Finding the Garden of Eden

**Chapter 8**

**Finding the Garden of Eden**

* * *

><p><strong>"If I have seen farther than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants."<strong>

**-Sir Issac Newton**

* * *

><p>I felt no different when the syringe left my body. I looked over myself and found no difference. It was the same scarred and battered, yet incredibly strong body I've had for what feels like forever. I stared at Eden, or at least, his computer.<p>

"Patience, dear boy. It will take effect, and you will pass out again. If you continue to take your injections every other day, however, your mutation will be kept in check, and you won't have to worry about fainting again... Well, from the shots, at least."

"Call me "dear boy" again, and I'm going to rip out your spine and floss with it."

"Honestly, what have I done to offend you?"

I stared, exasperated. "What have you done? Your bastard soldiers are the reason I look like this. You assholes come on the radio and spread peace and love, sure... but I only know of one person idiotic enough to listen to your crap, and that's some old guy in Megaton. You talk about bringing America back... yet you sit around and shoot citizens on sight. Only government I can think of that does that shit is a Communist government. Are you a red, Eden?"

"Boy, if you call me a communist one more time, I will have you put in stasis and under Enclave control. We have the means to do that, you know."

"Pushed a button, did I?"

I felt a rush of dizziness and put a paw to my head. I can't describe what I was feeling so well... nausea, aches, dizziness... It was the strangest I've felt since that Jet trip. I stumbled around a little bit and found my balance leaving me. I could feel Eden eyeing me, expectantly.

I thought it would wear off after a few seconds, but it just got worse. Slowly, I fell onto my rear, but eventually my head was spinning so badly that that wasn't even enough. I fell to a side, and my consciousness quickly left me.

.o.

I don't know how long I was asleep for, but when I woke up, she was still out. Sometime during the night she turned and was facing me again, having chosen to put her head just under my muzzle. I didn't want to wake her; she'd been waking up often over the night. She was also having some nightmares. There's something about the link between humans and animals. You just know when your companion is upset or hurting. It's almost an innate feeling; something driving you to help in any way you can.

If the only way to help is to stay close and provide warmth or comfort, you do it. Though I was feeling better with her finally getting a little more rest, the mild apprehension I had for Cord's well-being slowly gave way to pure fear. At one point during the night I even had a feeling of intense dread, like something bad is going to happen. At that point in the night I just wanted to go out and fight something. It made me feel restless and chaotic... and then it left me.

I didn't get much more sleep than Milly. If anything, I got less. Since I wasn't listening at the time, I didn't know what Milly was supposed to do today. I wanted to know how she was feeling today, but I had to guess that it wasn't much better than the night before. I know that death is a normal occurance in the wastes. It's easy enough to say that when the person dying isn't someone you know or love. When it turns out to be that someone... it changes how you feel. I've heard stories of people who were almost as saintly as Milly was, only to lose a family member or close friend and undergo a serious change in character: these people became vicious killers or drug addicts.

I couldn't let her lose herself like so many others before her. She was going to probably worry about Cord again when she woke up. He really should've gotten here by now. I found my fear giving way to acceptance of the worst. Cord was likely dead. When I say "acceptance", I don't mean a feeling of enlightenment or a feeling like I got over an obstacle. It's just a plain acknowledgement of the worst case scenario, and as such is nearly devoid of feeling.

I know that it would hurt her a lot more to think that Cord was dead, though. Rather than appear sad or concerned for him, I decided to act like I was sure he was okay. One death was going to be a handful. Two so close together... I didn't want to think about it.

It was around then that she woke up. I felt her eyes looking up at me. She looked at the device on her wrist again and sighed, draping it over my torso.

"It's time to get up," she said sleepily. Even after saying it, she stayed put for a few more minutes. I licked the top of her head a few times. She slowly turned onto her back and sat up.

"You're right, buddy. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can wind down... Cord hasn't shown up yet?"

She was looking around the small room. I could see her visibly slump. She shook her head.

"Damn... Cord... where are you?"

She set her bare feet on the floor and shuffled over to her armor (she put it on a desk). Before making any move to put on the armor, she cracked her back a few times. I got off the bed and did the same. That mattress felt like a pile of rocks. After we both stretched, she slowly got her clothes on, and then her armor. She picked up "Bolt", and headed for the door.

8.7

While we were walking, someone reminded Milly to go see Scribe Rock-something. I didn't know who that was, but Milly seemed to know. She mentioned that we were welcome to the mess hall for breakfast. I had a slight feeilng that these people were not willing to seperate me from her. I would not leave her side willingly, anyway.

When we got to the mess hall, there was still no sign of Cord. Milly asked a few tin men about him, but no one she asked seemed to have any clue as to his whereabouts. We were both reassured a little, though. One of the tin men explained that scouts by the water cleaner reported no disposal of deathclaws. We asked if they knew where he was heading, but the tin man said they got there after the Enclave attacked and Cord's leave; too late to know where he was going, but too soon for the Enclave to have regrouped and disposed of any bodies.

One of the reasons I love Milly so much is the quality of food she gives me. When we met, I was a skinny dog that walked with a scavenging human. Because he was not a particularly capable fighter, I protected him most of the time, and he did what he could to avoid conflict- even walking away from great sources of food. With Milly, though... I eat like a king. Between gifts citizens of the bomb town give her, her skill with weapons, and the sheer hell she unleashes on bad humans, we can replenish our food supplies relatively easily.

Call me spoiled, but I've been growing accustomed to eating so well. I gained muscle and became an even stronger guard dog. We move around so much that any fat I could gain burns off... with Cord, we had to split our food supplies even more, though he offerred to hunt several times. I forgot how well I ate without him around... but that doesn't mean I don't miss picking on the poor fool.

When she dropped the piece of brahmin steak into my dish, I had to stop myself from knocking over the tin man that gave it to her and licking him. Instead, I ate beside her.

She hardly touched her food by the time I was halfway done with mine. I had to stop and nudge her with my snout to get her to eat a little more. From there on, I ate slowly, keeping an eye on her. I had to stop every so often to get her to keep eating. She fought with me a few times:

"Stop, Dogmeat. I'm not hungry."

"Dogmeat, knock it off, will you? I don't have an appetite."

"Bad Dogmeat! Please, just let me sit here and think."

"Fine, Dogmeat..."

By the time I finally got her to eat again, I was finished. When she got to around the midway point in her breakfast, she turned the radio on on that device of hers.

That radio man... he worked me up today, and in a good way. He went ballistic when he was delivering the news about his "last, best hope of humanity". He was furious with the Enclave for what they did to the water cleaner, but even clearer was how angry/horrified he was at what they did to Milly's Dad. I don't remember everything he said, but I can recall some of the stuff, though it may not be word for word:

"...101, if you're listening to this, remember that you can duck in here any time you need to. Mi casa es su casa. I'm real sorry, kid. Hope your deathclaw friend gets back to you. As for you, children of the wasteland, listen to this: If you're not a complete asshole, back 101 up in what's to come, because we all know what she's going to do to the Enclave. If you see her, let her know you feel for her, and show her the kindness that she's been showing all of you since she left that Vault of hers. And if you see her deathclaw friend... remember that he's been helping her, too. Send him in her direction. Doesn't seem like he found his way back to her yet. In other news, I swear I saw a shooting star last night through the hazy atmosphere..."

I could see pain in Milly's eyes again, but she forced back any tears that could've fallen. I gladly would've taken a moment to console her again, but in her eyes, it was time to do her chores- whatever chores these tin men had for her to do.

Now that I think about it, her entire journey has been about chores. Since I met her, she was always doing something for somebody- but that something would always end up to be something for the greater good. She managed to seduce some strange man that offerred her a great prize to blow up the bomb town, and in so doing removed any chances of interference while she disarmed the bomb for which it was named. She actually met the radio host she listened to, and while she could've threatened his life for her Dad's whereabouts, she did no such thing. Rather, she listened to his laments and offerred her assistance. Because of her kindness, the radio host gave her the whereabouts of her father, and also the name she'd carry forever: The Lone Wanderer, some kind of saint that rose out of a bunker to help the world.

I remember when we were attacked by these "Talon" humans. See, they go after most people that are as good as my human is. She put up with their attacks a few times, but when the time came that one managed to injure me pretty badly, she treated me, left me with the metal man in her house, and proceeded to exterminate the man that commanded the Talon humans, with the assistance of the tin men she was now negotiating with. Her daring assassination didn't destroy the Talon humans, but it _did_ send a clear message to them not to attack her anymore.

It was no wonder people asked for her help so much. She was gifted with weapons, likely because she grew up in a place where ammo for guns was plentiful, and she could practice as much as she liked. To be raised in the wastes meant a crude understanding of guns for most people. You can't practice much when you only have so much ammo to spare.

These tin men... they had a lot of ammo to spare. It was why they were so deadly. If Milly insulted one of them... I hated to think what would happen. She was well trained, but these people were well-armed and very highly trained. To take one of them down would be a huge feat. These weren't the bad tin men. They didn't have a hidden base somewhere that didn't require high amounts of training. These people were based in the middle of the hostile wastes. They had to be prepared at all times. What the bad tin men had in technology,the good tin men had in manpower.

She wouldn't insult one of them. I think both she and all the tin men in this place wanted to avoid stepping on any toes, so they were polite to one another. One directed her towards "Scribe Rothchild" (I guess that was the rock-something guy), and she nodded and said thank you.

The room he directed us to was a laboratory with a giant metal man inside it. (I nicknamed it "The Iron Giant"). It was intimidating to look at even from the entry to the room, and it was difficult to tell if it was a decoration or if it was a man-made soldier. It held my interest as long as we were in the room. I could hardly get my eyes off of it. I never saw a humanoid figure as large as the Iron Giant there. When I saw the guns attached to its arms, I felt pity for whoever had to face off with it.

"May I start by saying how sorry I am to hear about the loss of your father? You have my condolences."

"Thanks for your sympathy, but can we just get down to business? I need to find a G.E.C.K. Do you have one?"

The Scribe seemed to falter for a moment. "A G.E.C.K? Well, we have a seemingly endless supply of ammo, armor, and alcohol- but no G.E.C.K. Come to think of it, there's only a few in existence. I recall a story of some fellow prying one from the deathclaws of Vault 13... but why do you need one?"

"My Dad needed it for Project Purity."

"And you wish to fulfill your father's dream?"

Milly nodded. "It's the least I can do for him; for his memory. Now, where is this Vault 13?"

The Scribe chuckled. "Oh, I don't think you'll be getting the G.E.C.K from them. It was taken, as I mentioned, and... well, the Enclave-"

"Got it. Well, do you know where I can find another one?"

The Scribe appeared deep in thought for a few moments. "Well, not off the tip of my head, but you can feel free to access a terminal in the Scribe's chamber. It's down the hall there. It has a list of Vaults in the area, and the equipment they were given. If I remember right, one has a G.E.C.K, but I don't recall which."

Milly nodded, and went to turn towards the hall Rothchild pointed out, but she paused and slowly turned back.

"Wait, 'the deathclaws of Vault 13'? What does that mean?"

"Ah, well, it's a long story, so I'll spare you the details, but basically the Enclave wanted deathclaw soldiers that can obey orders. They experimented on a herd of deathclaw and increased their intelligence- they could talk, think, and understand. These deathclaw were sent to clear out Vault 13, but turned on the Enclave, and hid inside the Vault, welcoming travelers with pure intentions and shunning those without. One day, the Enclave figured out where they were hiding, and went in on an extermination mission."

Milly nodded. "And they all died?"

"Not necessarily. At least one survived; he was away when the attack happened. Before you ask, no, it's not the one you travel with. The one that survived was albino."

Milly appeared deep in thought this time. She slowly shook her head and looked at the Scribe again.

"Thanks, I appreciate your help."

"Come back to me once you find out where the Vault is. I can help you further."

She nodded, and looked down at me. "C'mon, Dogmeat. Let's go."

We turned away and started walking down the hall Rothchild suggested. Milly was starting to come out of her shock. She wasn't changing at all; she was returning to normal- the way she had been ever since I met her.

She sat down at one of the boxes with the buttons and started hitting them. I saw her mouth move a few times, as if she were reading. She'd nod a few times while she read, and then would press more buttons.

We were in the room with the box for about 20 minutes. I could tell Milly wanted to skim through what she was reading, but she had to find something specific, which required her to read everything carefully. I knew that she enjoyed reading as a hobby (she had these books at her bomb town house that she'd read to herself some nights before going to bed.) Sometimes she'd read them out loud to me, but most of them didn't really interest me. The one about the people that guy met in heaven did, though. I'm still waiting to find out why he was shot in the knee.

Whatever was on this box was not very interesting to her, either. Since Rothchild said it listed stuff that those underground bunkers called "Vaults" had, I couldn't blame her for being bored. Imagine reading about everything that someone else has: Guns, pictures, STDs- that sort of thing. It gets boring pretty quick.

When she finally found what she was looking for, she spun around in the chair, stopping herself when she came to face the door. I got up, and she practically skipped down the hallway. When we got back to Rothchild, she regained her composure.

"I need to find Vault 87," she said casually. "Do you know where it is?"

"Vault 87... I know where it is, but you can't go there."

Milly blinked. "Watch me."

"No, you don't understand. The way to the Vault's entrance is flooded with radiation. You would die within seconds. Even if you have the gene that turns you into a ghoul, you would die too fast for it to take effect. That's the level of radiation I'm talking about."

Milly paused for a moment. If Cord were here, he could cut through it and find whatever she needed. Deathclaws are very resistant to radiation. I've seen them pass through irradiated ruins with no reaction to it.

"...There has to be another way," she finally said. Rothchild seemed pleased.

"You share your father's determination, it seems. And in this case, you are right. Entering Vault 87 directly is a fool's errand, though your deathclaw friend could get through it with relative ease. However, there have been reports of caverns nearby full of crazy mountain kids. No, I don't mean they're completely hostile, but they don't let Brotherhood in. If you try to force, they'll shoot. Despite the fact that they're kids, they're pretty good! Not even the Enclave bothers them anymore."

"So, can I take a diplomatic approach?" asked Milly.

It was as if Rothchild could sense that she was not charismatic.

"I... don't think that's a good idea. Ask if there's a way to earn their trust. If you're good with kids, it shouldn't be a problem."

Milly nodded. Rothchild pointed to Vault 87 on a map he was standing by.

"If you use the plug by this map, you can download the locations of the vaults to your Pip-Boy. Just remember to stop by those caverns. They call it "Little Lamplight". It's about 202 degrees southwest of Vault 87."

Milly nodded. "I'll do that."

Rothchild turned away from her. "Very good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some formulas to write..."

I heard him mumbling various letters and numbers under his breath, but I lost interest when I heard Milly walking over to the plug Rothchild directed her to. She sighed in annoyance when she looked at the map again and pointed to one part.

"That's where we are, Dogmeat. We have to get..."

She moved her finger far up towards the top edge of the map.

"...There. That's going to take awhile..."

She paused. "Well, there's no time like the present. Let's head out, Dogmeat."

With those words, we headed up the stairway and out of the tin man base. Milly turned on the radio from the device on her wrist, and we walked while listening to the music play.

It would be a long day.

_**-Revolution! Revolution!-**_

"I most certainly am _not_ wearing that shirt, you crazy idiot."

"Then you will go stark naked. Not much of a threat, considering what you've been doing the past few-"

"Bite me. Want me to run something- ah, shit."

"What's wrong? Can't back up your threats anymore?"

"Give me the shirt," I mumbled, defeated. The officer handed me the fabric with "GOD BLESS THE ENCLAVE" embroidered on the back. In typical weird government fashion, a picture of a small kitten was right above the text. I knew an ex-enclave officer once (he was blacklisted), and the Enclave was fond of sending him fruit baskets and "Thinking of you" cards with little kittens such as this one on the front. I put it on.

"Yeah, great. Fuck you very much," I muttered. The Enclave officer seemed amused.

"You've just returned to your original form. I thought you'd be happy."

"Oh, yeah. It's a great big fairy tale. I'm helping a bunch of assholes hunt down one of the only friends I had in the wastes. What a joyous day!"

It turns out that remembering how to walk, run, and perform basic motor functions as a human wasn't necessary. Being human was like riding a bike. You don't forget. Of course, seeing everything from considerably closer to the ground with much less strength, stamina, energy, and senses than as a deathclaw would take some getting used to. I was my old self; obviously much weaker than the deathclaw. My senses were back to what they were as a human (about average), and I hardly recognized my own voice at first. Hearing that booming, powerful sound so much became the norm for me. That primitive part of my mind, however, wasn't the only thing not to return to normal. I figured out that I could still understand animals when we passed two conversing Enclave guard dogs.

"Hey, can I have three boots? I want two for my feet, and one that I can shove up your ass. Preferably steel-toed."

The Enclave officer had a neutral look on his stupid face. "Either wear the loafers we coughed up for you or go barefoot."

I held up the flimsy little shoes. "Yeah, but the thing is, I can't shove these up your ass quite as easy. Boots for Cord."

The officer opened his mouth to say something else, but I interrupted.

"Want me stumbling over every little bump in the road? If I do, we'll never get to Milly. Either get me some boots, or work on your "Sorry, Eden, but we were running late" excuse."

The look on the Enclave officer's face fluctuated ever so slightly; enough for me to know that I made my point. He started walking into another room.

"I'll see what I can find."

When I returned to human, my deathclaw gauntlets were nowhere to be found. They weren't on my hands, and they didn't fall off of them. It was like I never wore them in the first place; like I never turned into a deathclaw. As far as anyone could tell, I was the same green eyed guy with short brown hair as I'd always been. I wished my clothes never tore up when I became the deathclaw, though. That was my favorite shirt...

I already had the idea that Milly was long gone from the Citadel... But I didn't know where she would be going. The wasteland is a big place; hoping to run into her by chance was stupid.

The officer came back with a pair of boots and a gun. I took the boots and started putting them on, and then he set the gun down next to me.

"It's a CZ-75, and no it isn't loaded. Not until we get out of here and there's a squad on you should you turn on us."

I looked up at him. "How do you know that I can't shoot you all before you can shoot me?"

He stared.

"I can be that good with a gun."

"You're not."

I sighed. "Fine, I'm not."

"Hurry up and get ready. We're preparing to leave."

I picked up the gun and started following him. It felt strange holding a firearm after so long.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"I outfit you- check. Next, I take you to Colonel Autumn and his crew; they will take you a mile or so from the Citadel, you walk up and explain you're affiliated with 101, and that you need to find her. You get her location, we pick her up, ask our questions, and then you'll both be dismissed."

"What about my medication?"

The Enclave Officer pushed a few buttons on a keypad and a door opened.

"You'll come here once a week for a 7 day supply."

"Milly's not going to like this," I muttered.

"Yeah? Well, I don't like this, either. She's killed a great deal of our men in those tunnels, and she took their dogtags. Now we have a bunch of unknown soldiers on our hands, and a mutant. One guess who the mutant is, genius."

"Have I told you to bite me yet?"

The Officer saluted a few other soldiers.

"At ease. Yes, you mentioned that. I assure you I share as much distaste for you as you do for me."

"The whole bunch of you can go burn in hell. The government would steal a penny off a dead man's eye."

"Maybe so, but that dead man attacked us first; put our country in danger."

"Your country? You mean the hunk of debris outside your little clubhouse here?"

The Officer was unmoved. "The very same. We're working on it, Mister..."

I don't have a last name. Come to think of it, not many people do. I can only think of a few: John Henry Eden, Eulogy Jones, and Lucas Simms. There's probably more, but... in the pre-war days, it seemed like everyone had last names.

"Oh, I'm named after my invisibility superpower. It's Mr. Wheredidhego."

The Enclave officer was not amused. "People will be asking that very question if I put a bullet in your head. Nobody will find you."

"Oh, look at me. I'm shaking in my boots. I would be shaking in my loafers, but..."

Without looking at me, he replied: "You'll be shaking in the ground in about a minute. Close your mouth."

"Your threats are as empty as those loafers you tried to give me. You need me."

He whirled around that time, making me stumble back a little.

"We don't need you. We never did. The President is simply allowing you to live. If it were up to me, you'd be in stasis under our control."

As quickly as he turned to face me, he whirled back and resumed walking.

"But it isn't up to you, so keep your stupid one-liners to yourself, and stop trying to feel important."

The Enclave officer hit a button on a door, and it opened.

"Go. The man at the desk in here is the Colonel. Mind your tongue around him; he isn't as lenient as I am."

"I don't think I've _ever_ been less intimidated."

The Enclave officer turned and walked away. I walked in the office and gulped. I was lying; the Colonel might not have intimidated me as a deathclaw, but as a human...

...

Not that I missed being a deathclaw. I didn't.

When I got up to his desk, he was writing in something. He didn't even look up at me.

"Caucasian male, green eyes, short brown hair, named Cord, age 21, parents live in Rivet City."

I stared. Colonel Autumn finally eyed me.

"Is that all correct?"

I nodded uncertainly. "Yes...?"

Colonel Autumn stood up from his chair and started organizing some files on his desk.

"I like to make visitors aware that I know everything about them; that the Enclave has eyes everywhere."

"Is that right?"

"It is. I can read you your hobbies, if you like."

An anxious grin appeared on my face. "That... won't be necessary."

The Colonel turned to me and offerred a hand. "Colonel Augustus Autumn."

Once I didn't shake his hand, he shook a finger at me. "I like you, boy. You don't bend over and take it; don't feel the need to kiss a superior's behind. Just perform your tasks and we'll get along just fine."

"A little redundant, don't you think?"

He ignored me. "Now, you've been armed with a CZ-75. You will receive no live ammunition until we locate Miss 101."

"Hold it, I'm not shooting her. And neither are you."

"I had not intended on shooting her. We need information; our weaponry is just in case any unfriendly creatures wish to interrupt us."

I slowly nodded. "Right, so you're taking me to the Citadel?"

"We will land around a mile from the Citadel, and you will walk the rest of the way. Once there, find where Miss 101 went, and return. If you do not return, we will find you and shoot you sooner or later."

"You guys have the treatment for my condition. Why would I not return?"

He nodded. "Exactly, why wouldn't you? Now, come. The vertibird is waiting."

He led me out a door behind his desk and up a few flights of stairs. We didn't say anything to each other on the way up. When he opened the door at the top to the whirring of the vertibird, though, I gulped again. I felt pretty guilty for what I was doing, but the Enclave just wanted to ask questions, and they were giving me my humanity back. That doesn't mean I enjoyed their company, though.

I've only been able to ride in a vertibird twice: once when I was unconscious and being transported here, and now. I was pretty excited, because I couldn't remember anything about that first trip, but my excitement vanished relatively quickly after we took off. The vertibird is a cramped, loud machine, and the windows are so dirty that you can't see through them. The seats were the only good part; they were heated. Ever sit on a heated seat? It's _niiiice._

The trip was dead silent. There wasn't even anything to read on this flight, and my ears kept popping. I busied myself with an attempt at breaking the nail biting habit I developed as a deathclaw, but keeping my fingers out of my mouth became difficult. Nail biting went from a habit to... almost an instinct to me.

The entire flight took about 45 minutes; we were flying against the wind. After I finally grasped that I still retained some instincts that came to me as a deathclaw, I sat around trying to find the positives in what I was doing. On one hand, I had my humanity back. I could see my parents again; have my family... but on the other hand, I was turning my back on the person I owed my life to. I knew that Milly would not know who I was when she saw me again, but I worried about Dogmeat. If he was able to smell my humanity as a deathclaw, he'd know it was me... and if I thought Dogmeat was a tough son of a gun as a deathclaw... he'd kill me very quickly as a human.

I could try to apologize, since I could still understand animals... oh, no. Knowing Dogmeat, he'd try to protect Milly- and he'd get himself hurt in the process, or worse. I tapped Autumn.

"Hey."

He didn't respond to me at first. I tapped him again.

"Hey, asshole."

He turned his head partially.

"Do I need to remind you of your use? Just ask where-"

"Milly has a dog."

He stared at me. "And this concerns me... why?"

"He's not going to be happy that you're taking Milly. He'll attack."

"Then we'll be having dog tonight."

"If you harm a hair on that mutt's head, you have no idea what kind of hell with rain down on you."

"I understand your concern for 101's well being, but if her dog attacks, we'll put it down."

"You seem to be mistaking my last statement for a threat. It's a promise, Autumn. I'm not joking. Milly's already pissed that you killed her Dad, so you've more than likely got a death sentence as it is. Whether or not she finishes you with a bullet to the head or with slow painful torture is up to whether that dog lives or dies, though. Spare it."

Colonel Autumn stared me down, as did his team.

"101 can't kill me. She cannot defeat the Enclave, powerful as she is. Even so, I will humor you. No harm will come to her dog from me or my team. It is up to you to keep it at bay, though."

"Terrific."

I went to relax for the rest of the trip, but Autumn continued.

"Get ready. We're at the drop point."

Since I didn't have any equipment that was heavy or inconvenient enough to have to remove, I simply waited for the jolt as the Vertibird touched down. My ears finally popped all the way, and the door opened.

"You will convince them that you're friends with her. Get her whereabouts, and be quick. You'll have no support, so if you screw up, that's it."

I simply started walking towards the giant building that was the "Citadel". I had worked out what I would say to them to get that information, and I also had a back-up plan. I simply kept reciting to myself what I'd be saying the entire trip, and I tried to keep myself calm. The Brotherhood of Steel kind of creeped me out. All it is is a bunch of nuts who get off to pre-war technology, but they do some cool stuff from time to time. One gave me a bottle of purified water once when I was a kid. A group was visiting Megaton. Nice guy.

Well, the Enclave prefers energy weapons and chainsaws called "Rippers". However, operating a ripper can be fairly difficult and requires some training, or you're going to hurt yourself. I learned that lesson when someone came into Megaton with a ripper, got drunk, and lost three fingers. Next morning, he gave it to this old raider named Jericho (he's very good with all types of weaponry), and even he had trouble using the thing.

He kept mumbling about how there was "a damn clutch on the damn thing". Between priming, starting, and keeping a ripper running, it was more trouble than it was worth. For once, I was going to be better off with a gun. They probably wouldn't let me have one of those ripper things, anyway. Even though I wouldn't be able to use it right, those things looked pretty cool.

Before I actually reached the Citadel, I made sure to turn my shirt inside out. If they saw the "Enclave" embroidering on the back, they might take it the right way and shoot me.

I holstered my gun and jogged up to the Brotherhood guys, slowing down before I reached them so they wouldn't shoot me. One with a big old minigun turned partially to me.

"Halt, citizen. This is a Brotherhood of Steel base. We are not handing out rations, nor are we looking for initiates or pencil pushers at this time. Please leave."

"Sorry, uhh... listen man..." I panted. "I know Miss 101; I know where her deathclaw friend is."

"Well, you missed her by about an hour," said the Brotherhood Paladin. "She went off to get something."

"I need to catch up with her, alright? I promised her deathclaw friend that I'd let her know he's okay."

"You let me know just now. I'll relay the message. Move along."

"You don't get it, man! Please, just let me know where she's off to. There's something she needs to know, and I have to tell her about her deathclaw!"

"Is it dead?"

"No."

"Insane?"

"No."

"Pregnant?"

"What? Hell, no! He's a dude!"

"I can't just tell a civilian where she's gone to. It's classified."

"Dude, it's urgent! Please!"

"Why send you?" asked the Paladin, now suspicious. I scoffed.

"'Why send you'... 'Why send you'... He doesn't want to get _shot!_ Dude, I just need to tell her where he is..."

An idea of what to say next came to my mind, but it made me feel like scum. If I said this, I might be severing all ties with Milly... and I'd be carrying the guilt of saying it for a long time...

"I told you already. Her location is classified. If you continue to harrass me-"

"He says her Dad is still alive!" I gasped out. Inwardly, I died a little.

It was a low blow; lying about someone she loves just to get information... but it worked. The Paladin paused a moment, and I heard a sigh.

"Very well. She is heading for Vault 87. Take Little Lamplight; she'll have gone through it. If I find out that you're lying, though... I'll rip your heart out and hang it on my bedroom wall, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you! You're going to make miss 101 very happy!"

With those words, I ran off. The primitive part of my mind started lecturing me now. It was aggressive, yes, but not cruel.

_You're a real fucking piece of work, you know that? First you sell your soul to the devil himself, and now you're lying to find your former master. You're pathetic._

_"I know,"_ I said to myself while jogging. _"That was in poor taste."_

_Poor taste? That was downright evil. When I was actually a deathclaw and not part of your mind, I killed. Sure. At least it made sense, though. I killed because I needed to survive. You're killing because you want something._

"Killing?" I snapped out loud. I hadn't made it to the vertibird yet, though.

_"I'm not killing anyone!"_

_Oh, come on. Do you really think the tin men are going to set you and your master free after you do as they ask? They're going to kill you both. She doesn't deserve to die at the hands of those "humans". Feel that gaze upon you? That's her Dad staring at you with disappointment. Was his death really just a tool for you?_

I was silent as I slowed down when I reached the vertibird. That wasn't right. The Enclave was a lot of things, but they wouldn't do that.

"Report. What is our destination?" asked Colonel Autumn. I was silent.

...They _wouldn't _do that, would they?

_If you tell them, your fates are sealed._

"I said 'Report'. Where is 101?"

...But... no! No, if they wanted me dead, they wouldn't make the FRV... right?

_Didn't the screen man say that it was for Super Mutants?_

"Damn it, boy. Report now, or you will no longer receive your treatment!"

That's true... but... but... they gave me a gun! Why give me a gun?

_Yes, why give you a weapon that they likely know you cannot use properly?_

Colonel Autumn pulled a laser pistol from its holster and pointed it at my forehead.

"I'm not going to ask you again, boy. Where. Is. 101? Tell me now, or you will be tortured until you give up the location!"

...if I don't cooperate here, I'll die anyway... but they can't... they won't...

_You keep thinking that, boy. You keep thinking that..._

"She's heading for Vault 87 via Lamplight Caverns," I finally said. Colonel Autumn lowered his pistol.

"Is that right? When did she leave?"

"Uhh... they said she left a few hours ago. If we fly low to the ground, we should be able to see her. There's no way she could've made it to Little Lamplight yet."

Colonel Autumn turned to his crew. "You heard him. Get on board."

The crew almost immediately responded. Autumn grabbed my arm. I cringed; he had a strong grip.

"Next time I tell you to do something, you do it right away. Do you understand me?"

"Now, when you say "next time", do you mean- Ow! Agh!"

"Do we understand each other?"

I nodded, and he released my arm, practically shoving me towards the vehicle. "Get on the vertibird."

I slowly climbed into the vehicle and acknowledged the primitive part of my mind once again.

_...Okay, maybe I did make a bad call here..._

_**-Revolutions do not last-**_

At the speed we were travelling, getting back to the bomb town would not be a problem. Milly wanted to resupply before we headed out and do some repairs on her weaponry. She only had Bolt with her, and she was talking about retrieving something she called an "M4A1". It would pack a better punch than her typical sidearm, which was almost always a pistol. The trip back to the bomb town would take a few hours under normal conditions, but riding on the back of this deathclaw cut it down to a little over an hour.

It wasn't Cord. For one thing, it was a female, and for another, it didn't seem like she had ever been a human. She told me that she was originally planning to kill us and take us back to her home for a future meal, but she smelled her mate on us. We hit a soft spot. She said her name was Kastine.

To humans, a mate is a partner for reproduction, but among animals, it would mean the equivalent of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend". Seems like he's becoming more and more like a deathclaw, but I don't think he'll ever be close enough to actually stack Kastine. Come to think of it, I think he'd be the girlfriend in this relationship. She seemed pretty intimidating, and Cord can be like a giant baby.

_"If you two didn't kill him, then do you mind telling me where he wandered off to? I'm going to kill him."_

_"That's the thing,"_ I replied. _"We don't know. We were at this big water cleaner thing, and a bunch of tin men attacked, and he split off from us. We don't think he's dead, but he never showed up."_

Kastine snorted. _"Told me he'd be back in three days two months ago. Glad he's still alive, though."_

_"For our sake, I'm glad you can smell him on us," _I said. She snorted again.

_"Damn right!"_

Milly was dead quiet the entire trip back, but who could blame her? Kastine couldn't speak to her, nor did she care to, and I could tell that she just wanted to get to Megaton as soon as possible. I bet she's glad I was here to convince this deathclaw to carry her. I had a bad feeling in my gut about just walking. I felt like someone was looking for us. Cord? Maybe. The bad tin men? Probably.

_"How long's he been like that?"_ I asked. Kastine squinted.

_"I dunno, about half a year?"_

_"How did that happen?"_

I heard a yelp and a whimper. Two wild dogs that may have been planning on attacking me were heading for the hills the moment they saw Kastine. Then again, all a deathclaw has to do sometimes is look at you funny and the next thing you know, your legs are moving in the opposite direction. Kastine answered me without acknowledging the dogs further.

_"I wasn't there for all of it, but I remember I bumped into him while he was human. He was wearing the paws of a deathclaw as weapons, and was being de-radiated- _irradiated_, and he collapsed. Next thing I know, his body starts acting really funny. He was unconscious but groaning a lot, and the deathclaw paws almost seemed to be... throbbing. Slowly, he started getting bigger and his hair started falling out. Those stupid fabrics humans always wear tore apart. His mouth began to bleed; his teeth grew out, his face formed a muzzle, his muscles got bigger, he developed a tail... after a few minutes, you never would have thought he was a human if you couldn't smell it on him. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life."_

_"How did he take it when he woke up?"_ I asked. She shot me a look.

_"He just kind of asked me questions. Rather than have the entire meltdown then and there, he decided to spread it out over the next week or two. He's lucky I'm the one that caught him crying all those times. Would've got himself killed if someone else saw it."_

_"Is he over it yet, do you think?"_

She snorted again.

_"He's my mate. He can't let it get to him anymore, or else he won't be prepared for whatever crap I throw at him. Now, tell me about your human. Moddy, right?"_

_"...Milly."_

_"Sure, whatever. Now you talk."_

I took a breath and looked up at her, seeing her return my look with a smile.

_"She's very sweet and is very good with a gun and healing objects. In fact, she saved Cord from Paradise Falls-"_

_"That idiot got himself _enslaved? _Please tell me this is before his... condition!"_

_"Nope. Never wanted to talk about it with us, so I imagine the method in which he was caught is pretty funny."_

_"...That's pathetic,"_ she muttered. I looked at her.

_"Well, this _was_ when he was still getting used to things,_" I (maybe) lied. I'm not exactly sure when he was captured, so maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong.

She said nothing in return. Instead, she slowed down a few hundred feet from the bomb town.

_"I can't go there, for obvious reasons," _she said. She got down a little for Milly to get off her back. When Milly was on the ground again, she smiled at Kastine.

"Thanks for your help," she said. Kastine snorted.

_"When you find that idiot, send him in my direction, dog. I'll be waiting!"_

I nodded partially at her in return. With that, she ran off. I looked up at Milly and she smiled down at me. We started walking towards the bomb town.

Somewhere, off in the distance, a flying machine whirred.

End of Chapter

* * *

><p><strong>7,904 words.<strong>

**I was originally planning on covering Vault 87 in this chapter, too, but I decided against it. **

**My computer is making a weird clicking sound every once in a while. From what I've read about it, it's probably the hard drive getting ready to go. I sincerely hope I can finish this story before then, though that's not likely. I'll be backing up my stories more often now. I'm also pretty concerned. I have Avast!, and yesterday if I hovered my mouse over its icon on the task bar, it would say "avast! Antivirus: Your system is secured." Today, I look and it says "avast! Antivirus: WARNING, your system is UNSECURED." However, when I look at it, no shields are down, it updates regularly... it's as if it thinks it's down but it isn't... I dunno.**

**Next chapter covers Vault 87 FOR REAL this time.**


	11. Long Road Out of Eden

**Chapter 9**

**Long Road Out of Eden**

* * *

><p><strong>"It's stopped."<strong>

**-Joseph Henry Green's last words, upon taking his own pulse.**

* * *

><p>Ever since the bombs dropped, there has been a dispute as to whether or not God exists.<p>

I shouldn't say that. Ever since man's origins, there has been a dispute as to whether or not God exists. Some people became deeply religious after the bombs, others became athiests. Some became consumed by greed, others became sources of benevolance. Some worship animals as some sort of diety and consider it a great privilege to be killed by the animal in question, because it means that the creature took an interest in you.

Some people come across atomic bombs that did not detonate (turns out there are quite a few that were duds) and worship _them_; the very tools that caused the end of an era of fear and the start of an endless era of survival.

It felt like God was proving that He exists to me, because Milly should not have been able to evade us on the way to Vault 87. She should have been seen walking in the wastes with her dog... we should have caught up to her. Instead, we saw a few wild dogs here and there, a brahmin... hell, I think I saw a Super Mutant wandering around, only rather than shoot at us, it stared. How do I know what was on the ground if my window was dirty? I had a front row seat this time. I sat next to the pilot and stared out the windshield at the ground... but I saw no sign of her.

I felt Autumn standing over me as we made another pass over Lamplight Caverns.

"Tell me... was 101 invisible when you parted ways? Or... did you just think that misleading me would benefit you somehow?"

"Dude, I'm not misleading you. The Brotherhood guy said she was heading for Vault 87 through Little Lamplight. Maybe we didn't see her."

"No, if we didn't see her, our radar would've picked her up. I saw a few dogs and a deathclaw, but no sign of 101."

Colonel Autumn sighed in annoyance.

"Very well, we will... we will allow her to get whatever she is going to Vault 87 for, and then we will ambush her."

The pilot kept us moving, and I felt Autumn staring down at me.

"For your sake, I hope you did not try to cover for her. We will find her sooner or later."

"We will find her sooner or later," I mocked. Autumn ignored me.

"What if she went to Megaton?" I asked. Autumn didn't seem too concerned.

"Then she's probably re-supplying or re-arming. Let her do as she pleases. By the time she finds whatever she's looking for, she'll likely be low on ammo and supplies. Besides, whatever she's looking for may be of some use to the Enclave."

"It makes me proud to be serving such a wise and respectable government."

"Keep talking like that and this wise and respectable government will give you a lesson about gravity," said one of the Enclave soldiers.

"Yeah? Well, in the words of Woodrow Wilson... up yours too, buddy!"

Nobody even bothered pointing out the obvious flaws in my logic (I just sort of throw things together once in a while).

Now the flight was quiet, and I was bored.

"We're nearly at bingo fuel, Colonel. We'll be stopping at a camp to refuel within the hour."

The Colonel made no movement to show that he heard the pilot, but nobody said anything. It was silent again, and I needed to do something.

"I spy with my little eye something that is whirring."

There was silence for a few moments, then one soldier muttered "Is it the vertibird?"

I nodded. "Yes. Now, I spy with my little eye... something that is bright."

"Is it the sun?"

I turned to the soldier. "You're good at this game. Now, I spy with my little eye... an uptight asshole in a trenchcoat."

This time, every soldier was silent. Colonel Autumn either didn't hear or didn't give a rat's ass what I said.

"Is it Autumn?" I muttered in a higher pitch. Then, I threw my arms out in surprise.

"Yes, it is! Damn you guys are good!"

"Colonel," interrupted the Pilot. "I'd like to voice a concern."

"Go on, Corporal."

"The kids of Little Lamplight aren't keen on letting just anyone walk into their home, and if we go in and gun them down, 101 will know something is wrong and will be ready for us. I need to know if I'm heading for Vault 87 or Little Lamplight once we refuel."

"Your concerns are noted, Corporal, but are entirely misplaced. I am well aware of the consequences to reap should we extinguish Little Lamplight. We will enter through another passage to the Vault."

"There's another passage?" I asked. "How many entrances are there to this Vault?"

"You call it an entrance, I call it a ventilation shaft that very few are willing to go near.

I blinked. "Care to elaborate?"

The Colonel looked at me. "Turns out you have another use. You're a deathclaw. The ventilation shaft is located in a den of deathclaws. If I'm right, and I am 84.3% of the time, the deathclaws will not attack you. You go in, make sure the shaft is open, and convince the deathclaws that we're not there to harm them."

"You want me to risk my neck on an assumption?"

"If you would be so kind."

"Sounds like a bad investment on my part. What will you give me in return?"

"Another few days of your humanity."

I stood up.

"So, am I asking them to leave for a few minutes or asking them to not attack you?"

"I knew you'd see things my way. As long as they stay out of the way, I don't care. I can't waste ammunition on those pests if we're going into Vault 87. The best we can figure, it's a hostile vault."

I didn't say anything. The pilot was eyeing me.

"What part of "We'll be stopping at a camp to refuel" did you not understand? Sit down."

I didn't respond; just chose to sit like he asked. Since we had some time, I had nothing to do but look out the window.

The primitive part of my mind told me I was a dead man one more time, though I didn't know if it meant by the deathclaws or the Enclave.

_**-Revolution! Revolution!-**_

When we were in her home, she walked right to the locker she kept her M4A1 in and took it along with another rifle like Bolt. She sat down to a bench and started taking Bolt apart along with the other rifle, replacing old parts of the former with those of the latter. She sighed.

"When I was in the Vault, we never learned how boring this was, Dogmeat."

I sat down a few feet from her, watching as she slid bits and bobs back into Bolt.

"All I learned was how to shoot a BB Gun. I always thought I'd be "Milly, m.d." We don't have a last name, you see... but I'm out here looking for a way to make clean water."

She started wiping some grime off one more piece of Bolt. We didn't have to worry about the other gun; it was recently worked on. The only problem I saw with it was how dirty the sights were. They were so scratched and matted with dirt that there was nothing to do to clean them. Milly didn't actually need them, though. For her, it was a fairly simple concept: point and shoot. Her guns had a delightful way of making problems die.

She finished putting Bolt back together about 2 hours after she started.

"There... Now we have dinner, and first thing tomorrow we leave."

I blinked. With that, she patted my head.

"You hungry, boy?"

My stomach growled. She giggled.

"Of course you're hungry; you're always hungry. Might as well enjoy a meal today, because I have a feeling you'll be testing some less-than-tasty foes tomorrow."

I obviously didn't say anything (all she'd get from me would be a bark). She smiled at me and started towards a pantry.

"...I think this meat is still good."

She smelled it. "Might as well cook it first, though."

That night, I remember dinner being silent. It was a "calm before the storm" sort of thing. While she didn't say a word, I knew that her thoughts were with the future. Every day feels like your last; like living another day is a rebellious act on its own. Tomorrow we'd be finding this device Milly needed so badly. The metal man that kept the house clean gave us both clean water, but he wasn't very good company.

I don't think we've ever had a meal together that felt so awkward and uneasy. It also didn't help that I really didn't want to walk all the way to... wherever we had to get. I know Milly would let me stay here with the metal man if I didn't want to go somewhere, but then I'd be violating my resolve. I can't let her go off on such a potentially risky journey on her own. Besides, the metal man doesn't scratch behind my ears like she does. He just tells me to "shoo", and that he's "allergic to dogs". How a metal man could have allergies is beyond me, though.

Once we finished eating the metal man took away our dishes and Milly filled a tub with hot water and got undressed. I kept my distance from her because the last time she did that and I got close, she splashed me with the water. I'm okay with water, I just don't like what Milly tries to do to me with it.

She got into the tub of water and lay back in it, taking a bar of something that smelled like stawberries and wrapping it in a rag. She glanced over at me as if to splash, but I was far enough away to not get wet.

"It feels like forever since my last bath, Dogmeat," she said. I decided to lay down by her lockers while she washed her body. Once she was done, she took another bar that smelled a little different and started cleaning her hair with it.

"Ugh, I wish I had some shampoo. This soap knots my hair," she said. Then, she looked at me again with a smile.

"...Which reminds me: once I'm done helping the Brotherhood, you need another bath, Dogmeat. You reek."

My ears perked up and I stared. On one of the first days she met me, she tricked me into getting into that tub and started pouring water on me. It got in my ears and nose, and the thing she was using to wash her hair now was used on me. It made bubbles that got in my eyes and burned them, and I shook my fur, getting her wet in the process.

I also recall jumping out of the tub, making a big mess for the metal man to clean up. Again, it wasn't that I hated water. The water just hurt my eyes, ears, and nose when she gave me one of those "baths". How she stayed so calm in that deathtrap remains to be seen. I was not getting in that thing again willingly, and I made a mental note to keep myself from falling for the trick she used on me last time- a delicious piece of steak inside the tub.

That was back when I was skin and bone, though. She'd have to try harder to get me into that thing this time. She must have seen the look on my face, because she frowned as she got out of the tub.

"You're not going to make it easy, are you?"

I barked. She sighed as she dried herself with a towel she had nearby.

"Let's worry about that some other time. Come on, buddy. It's time for bed."

...Yeah, like I'm going to be sleeping tonight. For all I know, she'll drag me into that tub while I'm out. I wish I was as big as that deathclaw; he wouldn't be able to fit in the thing.

We walked into the room and she let me on her bed again (she never did before). When she lay down to rest, I was next to her. She rested her head near my chest and shut her eyes.

"At least you're still here, Dogmeat. Promise to be careful when we leave tomorrow... okay?"

I licked the top of her head in response. We both got comfortable, and fell asleep.

_**-Revolutions do not last.-**_

My heart was pounding, and I was soaked with sweat. The deathclaws spotted me and were running towards me.

_"_Yeah, uhh... I have a team of humans that needs to get through that pipe over there. Either you let us through or we plow through you," I thought to myself.

...Nah, too aggressive.

"We're not here to harm you or anything, we just need to get to that pipe. Can you let us through?"

...Too passive.

"Dude, if you let us through, you'll see us one more time on the way out and that's it."

...That'll do.

I never actually saw a deathclaw this closely as a human. Come to think of it, anyone who has is probably dead save for those that ran into me. The one that stood before me now had bigger horns, muscles, and claws. He could kill me by just giving me the evil eye.

My heart literally skipped a few beats and I felt myself die a little when the deathclaw raised a paw above his head. However, he paused and snorted in the air, and slowly lowered it.

I tensed up when his snout got to my neck. I didn't do this to Milly when I was one of them... Then again, I wasn't always a deathclaw.

_"...You... You're a human. Why do you smell of the herd from the Sanctuary?"_

"Because I'm part deathclaw, I guess. LIsten, can you let me and a few friends through to that vent over there?"

The deathclaw stared at me.

"_You know I can kill you with the swipe of one claw, right?"_

"I don't like where this is going," I said, taking a step back. The deathclaw lunged and I shrunk back a little, but he didn't hurt me. He snorted.

_"...You humans are the best food out here... You're funny when you're about to die."_

"If you kill me, my squad will kill your herd."

_"What squad? I see no other humans."_

"Exactly. They're the last thing you never see," I said. I heard that somewhere before.

As if to prove my point, there was a gunshot and a bullet hit the ground just by the deathclaw's feet. He jolted and looked around, but even I didn't know where they were.

"Let us through, and you'll be spared. I've never had the chance to try deathclaw meat."

There was a long pause, and we both stared each other down. Inwardly, I panicked. If he didn't like what I said, he could kill me right here, right now. If he considered us a big threat, he might call for his herd to kill us. The Enclave is notorious for slaughtering deathclaws... when they have big guns. The weapons they carried now would not be enough. We wouldn't stand a chance.

However... the deathclaw turned away.

"_Let your squad through. We won't harm you. Once you're done in there and you leave, however, we don't want to see you again."_

I nodded. "The feeling's mutual."

When the deathclaw walked back to his herd, I signaled for the Enclave. Almost immediately, they were on me. Two carried rippers and jogged right up to the vent. They started cutting.

I kept eyeing the deathclaws to make sure they were good with their word to me, though I'm not sure what I would've done if they weren't.

Keep in mind that when I was a deathclaw, I wasn't able to take down my own kind. Now I'm human again. There would be nothing I could do except pray that the Enclave could kill an entire herd of them. I know for sure that they can kill one or two deathclaws easily. It's three to five and beyond that causes a problem. Even a shotgun at close range to the torso won't stop a deathclaw. It might just snort as if to say "That tickles".

It would take a high-powered bullet to the head to take down a deathclaw immediately. It would take many more to the torso to bring one down. When I say 'high-power' I'm talking .50 caliber rounds.

They finally got through the vent and we all walked inside. Inside the vent, we saw nobody. I tapped Autumn's shoulder.

"What do we do if we come across anything that isn't Milly?"

"We kill it. Don't forget; we didn't enter the vault in the same place as Miss 101 will. She won't know we're here until it's too late."

"What do we do while we wait for her?"

"We're combing the area for anything we might be able to use. Now, be quiet."

While we walked, I stumbled past a poster with a man in Power Armor on it. The caption read "We see all. We know all. _**Say NO to espionage.**_"

I felt a pang of guilt.

_**-Revolutions do not last.-**_

She was pumped.

Milly wasn't walking, wasn't trudging along. We weren't stopping for more than two seconds at a time. Those pauses were only because she thought she heard something.

She wasn't walking. She was running. We were running.

Humans say that there's something called the "grieving" process. My old human always talked about it. It went something like denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. A normal human would go through it in order, but Milly is not a normal human.

She was sort of... hopping around. Upon her father's death, she was depressed. Now... now she was angry.

She was very angry.

...No, she was _furious!_ We ran into three bad metal men just sort of... wandering along. Not by the time she was done.

"You killed my father!"

Her attack was fueled by her anger, but she wasn't blinded. She didn't make a stupid error. She caught the three by surprise and already ended one before the others could raise their weapons.

Milly killed all three before they managed to fire five shots. Once they were dead, she took their dogtags and we continued.

That brief confrontation was the longest interruption our walk had. By mid-day, we closed half the distance between us and this 'Little Lamplight'. I remember worrying abour her changing for a few moments...

...but she didn't change. We ran into one of the good metal men. He told her that he was sorry for her loss; that the Enclave killed his father, too...

She was sweet as could be, and they exchanged words for just a minute or two before we continued on.

She did not give up the hunt for Cord. Every so often she would shout his name, but he would not respond. She stopped shouting for him when we got into more dangerous areas, such as Yao Guai territory. While they wouldn't harm her on sight, she knew better than to startle a Yao Guai.

We didn't even stop as night fell. She just kept up her pace, and I followed. In the past, if we ever had to travel at night, Milly would always turn the light off on her wrist-machine. Tonight, she turned it up... almost daring anyone who saw it to come and get her.

The trip was silent, and when I say that, I don't mean just between her and I. The wasteland was fickle. You were as likely to be attacked and killed as you were to be left alone. It was quiet that night. Not _one_ soul, friendly or hostile approached or was even anywhere nearby.

After about an hour of silence, she finally looked over at me wearily.

"It's best to get this walk out of the way now, huh Dogmeat?"

I didn't make a peep in response, but I eyed her so she knew I was listening.

"I mean, it's safe to sleep because nobody is around, but... Then we'd have to wake up and keep going... and that's assuming it _stays_ safe."

She let out a sigh and a rare curse (she almost never curses). "I just want this all to be over with... I want to finish my Dad's dream and spend the rest of my life knowing that I finished his dream."

She eyed me. "I'll sacrifice life itself if I have to, you know."

I gave a stern look right back at her. It was a look that got what I wanted to say across: "Don't say that!"

She stopped talking for a second, and sneezed. "Sorry, Dogmeat. I shouldn't say that... targets, 12 o'clock high!"

Almost immediately, two Super Mutants started shooting at her from atop a hill. A third was more interested in a Brahmin than her, and that Brahmin was putting up a fight.

I weaved in and out of bullets coming from the mutants and Milly. The mutants firing at both of us were using bolt-action rifles, and Milly was using her automatic M4A1.  
>"Get the dog... agh!"<p>

One of the Super Mutants attacking us lurched backwards as one bullet caught it between the eyes (it was sheer luck). I tackled the other and sunk my teeth into its throat. As strong as a Super Mutant is, if you can get your teeth into its throat, it dies pretty quickly. Plus, its hands are always clumsy; it can never grab a dog's neck and snap it. I hate going for the neck on raiders. I almost bought it a few times.

Once the Super Mutant under my paws stopped moving, Milly and I turned our heads to the one busy with the Brahmin, only to find it dead on the ground under the cow's hooves. It was an amusing sight. The brahmin was eyeing us, but it wouldn't attack us since we took the other two out. Milly and I chose not to say anything. Instead, she crouched by one of the Super Mutants.

"The big green man better have some copper-coated ammo," she said. She pocketed a few rounds for Bolt from the two Super Mutants, and we continued on. The third was using a piece of wood to attack the Brahmin, and from the looks of things, the Brahmin won.

From that point on, Milly kept her gun in her hands for the rest of the trip. Every so often she would fire upon a few enemies. The M4A1 was what humans called an "assault rifle", and in the hands of someone as good with guns as Milly, it was accurate.

Deadly accurate.

After a while, whenever she killed an Enclave soldier, she'd mutter "Tango down" just to spite them, because that's what they would say whenever they killed an innocent.

I digress. By the time Milly had used one "clip" of ammo, we'd reached our destination. Now, it was a little past 4 in the morning. She read a sign near the cave we needed to enter aloud.

"NO TRESSPASSING. Violaters will be shot. Survivors will be shot again."

Needless to say, Milly hesitated before proceeding down the path. There was even a Super Mutant that was about to attack, but it took one look at the cave and backed away.

These kids must've been pretty good shots.

We walked down the path into the dark for a while before torches started to light the way. The sound of our feet on the rocky floor echoed through the cavern, and the torches flickering and the sound of water dripping were the only other sights and sounds that accompanied us for a time.

A gun cocked and we froze. "Hands up, mungo! Hands up, or I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Slowly, Milly held her hands in the air (one held the M4A1). The voice was high, like a child... but it was a little bit ahead of us and we couldn't see the source. We both knew that multiple guns were trained on us, though.

"You've got exactly 5 seconds to turn around and start walking back the way you came! 5!"

"Wait, please listen to me..."

"4!"

"I'm not here to hurt anyone, honest!"

"3!"

"Can't I please just come in?"

"2!"

Milly groaned. "Step into the light! I bet your face looks just like my butt!"

"1... huh? Well, you must like having such a good looking butt!"

"You smell like a butt, too!" she said. The threatening voice chuckled a little.

"Hey, you're pretty funny for a mungo... but you're still not coming in."

Milly smiled down at me. We were making a little progress.

"Please let us in. We just want to get to Vault 87. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course I do... except it's in Little Lamplight, and you're not getting into Little Lamplight."

"Can you see me?" asked Milly.

The voice sighed. "Of course I can, mungo. Don't think that you can sneak around, either."

"I don't want to sneak around. I just want to come in to see the Vault. I promise not to hurt anyone."

"I dunno..."

Milly slowly knelt to one side and put her assault rifle on the ground, and stood up again with her hands still in the air.

"My weapons will be holstered the whole time I'm in here. I promise that I won't cause trouble."

I had an idea. Most little kids have a soft spot for dogs, and it didn't seem like this kid was able to see _me,_ so I tried to help get Milly inside. I barked. Sure enough:

"Is that a dog? Do you have a dog?"

Milly smiled down at me. "Sure do. His name is Dogmeat. You guys can pet him if you let us in."

There was a pause. Milly's eyes shot down at me, and then back at the source of the voice a few times. Finally, the kid relented.

"...Well, alright. I'll let you in, mungo... but I've got my eye on you, so no bull crap, or I'll put a bullet in you."

Milly slowly picked up her gun and strapped it over her shoulder, and we slowly walked forward to see what we were up against.

Blocking the entry to this cave-town was a huge wall made out of random debris with a door in it. The wall actually reached up and touched the top of the cave. There was just a small space for guns to poke through as well as eyes. Even if we wanted to, there wouldn't be any shooting our way in. Milly wouldn't shoot a kid, though.

We walked through the now open door and a child slammed it shut behind us. Afterwards, he actually had to spend 30 seconds or so fully locking it. There were so many locks on that door that it made me wonder why it would even need a guard.

"Sheesh, you look worse up close!" said the voice we pleaded entry with. Many people disagreed. Milly was one of the better-looking humans... when her face wasn't totally caked with dirt and other people's blood.

I took a good, long look at the child guarding this cave. He was a young boy, maybe 9 or 10 years old, and he wore a green helmet and clothes that looked about 3 sizes too big. He was carrying a rifle like Bolt, and though it was big in his small hands, I could sense confidence about him. I had a feeling he knew how to use that gun, and after seeing a Super Mutant turn tail and run, I'd say that I was right. He was pouting up at Milly, almost wondering why he even let a grown-up in to begin with.

Still, she smiled. "I'm Milly. And you are?"

"I didn't ask for your name, mungo... but if you must know, I'm Mayor MacCreedy... and as long as you're in my town, you behave."

"...mungo?"

"Yeah, that's what you are. We call all grown-ups mungos. Now, why'd you come here again-"

"Puppy!"

I looked towards the source of the voice and saw three small children, the oldest no more than 7. I turned towards them and slowly trotted over while Milly spoke with green-boy.

I was known by the people of the bomb-town as deadly to raiders/slavers, yet kind and gentle with innocents and especially children. I believed that a little kindness could keep them from becoming raiders/slavers, and what better way to defeat a problem than by stopping it before it starts?

I gladly played with these kids. They had a ball. A ball. As if that wasn't enough, they'd _throw_ it for me. I didn't listen to what Milly and green-boy said. Instead, I played with the children like Milly promised. Every so often I'd see another dog nearby, but most kids like dogs. Who could blame them for having a few?

One even wanted me to stay with them, but I couldn't do that. I'd be leaving Milly all alone, and... that wasn't going to happen shy of a barrier seperating us. Besides, I don't like cold, wet caves.

After a few more minutes, I started listening to Milly and the green-boy talk. The boy was talking about something called "Murder Pass". He said it was the only way to get into the Vault. He also spoke very fearfully of it, saying the big green monsters lived in it, and though they didn't even bother trying to attack the cave-civilization anymore, he feared the numbers there were.

Milly wasn't intimidated, but she wanted to preserve her ammo for any troubles that might be ahead. She asked if there was any other way.

"There's the front door, but it's irradiated. Bobby says that you can get through radiation if you hold your breath, but... he also says that dogs can't look up."

Just to prove the kid wrong, I looked up. Nobody noticed.

"I'd really rather not test the former theory. Is there any other way in?"

"Well, there used to be a passage here in Lamplight. It was a big metal door that only opened if you put the pass-code into a number pad. We forgot the code, so we shut off the door. No sense in wasting energy on it."

"Would you turn it back on for me?"

"No. I won't, at least. Try asking Joey. He's in town square, and he's the best with all the high-tech stuff. He'll get it up and running for you, mungo... but it's up to you to figure out the code."

She smiled. "I can do that. Dogmeat, come on!"

At the protest of the smallest kids, I trotted over to Milly and she smiled back at them. "Don't worry, I'll bring him back to see you again sometime soon."

With that, green-boy directed Millly to this "Joey". We had to walk deeper into the caves to find him.

I was always easily impressed by the shelters humans could make out of a few scraps. They could make incredible homes. Before I got a human, I could make shelters out of a few old branches, or I could use a rocky outcrop to sleep under. Humans could make shelters that have more than one floor. The human children that lived in these caverns created an ingenious bridge out of random debris left over from old times. This bridge was suspended in the air by cables, and it was capable of holding Milly, her guns, me, several other dogs, and many children without even swaying.

They even built homes here and there for the bridge to help get to. We had to enter one to find "Joey".

Joey could not have been more than 12 years old (young for a human). He had to look up to see Milly's face like all the kids here, but there was an aura of confidence about him... confidence and intelligence. Milly asked him politely about the door, and he told her all about it.

"Yeah, that old thing still works. I just have to turn it back on, and if you can figure out the code, by all means. The mutants stopped banging on it a while ago... but that's because MacCreedy riddled the door with bullets. It'll still work, don't worry. Any Mutants just beyond it would turn tail and run when the door opens. Trust me."

"That's great, thanks so much."

"Sure. Come on, I'll show you where the door is."

While Joey walked and Milly followed, the two started a smart discussion that I didn't understand, and went into the topic of Super Mutants. Milly was talking about the most effective weapons in stopping a Super Mutant, and Joey was talking about the weakest points on a Super Mutant's body.

Obviously the head and neck are weak, but Joey even told Milly about a spot they found that stops a Super Mutant cold, and it's in the center of the torso. Not the center of the ribcage, but the center of the torso where the ribs don't cover. Joey swore that one bullet from a decent gun to that spot was enough to drop a Super Mutant. Weapons such as Milly's MP5 (at home) may require a few more shots.

Milly thought about it for a while, and she admitted that the few times she managed a shot to that area (out of coincidence), the Super Mutant would just... drop. It happened every time.

"We don't know why it's like that, but... it's much better to take down ten Mutants with ten bullets than it is to take down one with thirty. If you run into any in there, try that."

"I will."

Joey fumbled with a box near the door for a few moments, and another box with pretty-colored buttons on it lit up.

"Go for it."

The next several minutes were spent with Milly pressing different buttons on the pad. Whenever she got a number wrong, it would flash red a few times.

"There's 5,040 possible codes on this thing... but if I stick with the numbers that are right..."

A few seconds after she said that, the pad flashed green and the door opened. She smiled, and drew her M4A1.

"Come on, Dogmeat. Thanks, Joey."

"Be careful in there. Nobody's going to come in and save you if you get hurt."

Neither of us responded. The door shut behind us, and we were enveloped by darkness for a few moments.

"Hang on..."

Milly turned on the light on her wrist machine and faintly illuminated the corridor we were in. Papers littered the floor and debris blocked some pathways. It reeked of death and dust. Our footsteps echoed through the corridor, but our movement forward was slow. Milly was holding her weapon up in front of her at all times.

Even so, there was no contact in that corridor. Joey was right. No Mutants waited beyond the door. The corridor was kind of a safe haven... but anything beyond it was unknown and potentially hostile.

Milly opened another door slowly and peeked inside... and froze. Directly in front of the door was a Super Mutant... and though it wasn't facing us... Milly raised her weapon and fired.

The bullets tore through the mutant's skull and it dropped to the floor very quickly. Almost immediately, we were being fired upon.

"Contacts, 2 o'clock!"

A boom-ball thrown by a Super Mutant landed by my feet, and Milly scrambled for it. She picked it up and threw it back out before it blew up. The explosion didn't harm any of the Super Mutants, but it stopped them for a moment.

"Go get 'em, Dogmeat!"

Immediately after she said that, I was bounding out of the little corridor at our enemies. There were three of them in the room, and I was doing my best to avoid being shot. Milly started shooting into the room randomly to distract them.

Milly's random shooting managed to injure one of the Super Mutants and force the other two to take cover. I caught one of them by the neck and squeezed. The other tried to shoot me, but the moment it broke cover a little to start shooting, it lurched forward with a bullet through it's torso.

The other Super Mutant threw another boom-ball (different from the Special Ball) at Milly, but she threw it right back again. This time, the big green monster wasn't so lucky. The ball exploded and sent pieces of it everywhere.

Around that time, the one I bit stopped moving, and I got off of its body. Milly reloaded her weapon, checked me for injuries, and we continued.

Milly started with 5 or 6 clips of ammo for her M4A1, and another 5 or 6 for Bolt, and one she found for a gun she wasn't carrying. She also had a few new balls that she found in the Vault. She called them "flashbangs", but I liked "bang-ball" better.

She was down to 1 (discluding the one she was using) magazine for her M4A1, and still all those she had for Bolt, and of course... the one she wasn't using.

That technique Joey told her about made things easy. We had to enter more than one room crawling with Super Mutants. Sometimes Milly would throw a bang-ball (a ball that made a loud noise and a flash, but didn't hurt anyone), into a room full of them, and then she'd open fire.

It was with these techniques that we stayed alive long enough to meet Fawkes. By that time, we were in the vault for three hours or so, and a trail of bodies was behind us.

Fawkes was a Super Mutant, but he was a little different. We encountered him when we were passing through a "containment area". How was he different? For one thing, he was a prisoner in this containment area, and for another... he could string together sentences that were more than 5 words long.

"You... over there... Come here! Come to my cell... it's the one on your right..."

The moment Milly noted that the voice was not hostile, she lowered her weapon a little and slowly approached after checking the corners.

We could hardly see through the dirty glass that seperated us, but the body beyond it was indeed a Super Mutant.

"...Agh! Either... you are quite real, or I am going quite mad... could it be that you're a pure human?"

Milly blinked. "I guess I am... I'm not mutated, and as you can see, I'm not a Super Mutant."

"Clearly! Wow... what a... glorious turn of events! I am Fawkes. And you are?"

"I'm Milly, and I have to say... it's interesting to be speaking to a Super Mutant that doesn't want to kill me- excuse me."

Milly whirled to one side, and shot a round from Bolt into a Super Mutant readying to attack. The bullet hit the weak spot, and the green man dropped. Afterwards, Milly turned back to Fawkes. He didn't seem too concerned with what she just did.

"No, please don't call me that! I am not a Super-Mutant... I'm... I'm more of a meta-human. I retain my mind in this form, but rotting in this cell causes me to slowly lose it anyway!"

"You're a mutant of your own kind, eh?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Now, listen... you're looking for the G.E.C.K, right?"

Milly blinked. "How did you know that?"

"This is Vault 87! The only humans that come here willingly either want that G.E.C.K, or are absolutely insane. I just so happen to know where to find it, and you won't be getting to it."

She stared. "Why won't I be getting to it?"

Fawkes took a few steps back for a moment, and then returned to the intercom he was using.

"The corridor that houses the G.E.C.K is absolutely flooded with radiation. It is unlikely that you would survive very long. I, however, possess a useful trait thanks to my half-witted brothers. I am surprisingly resistant to radiation. If you can free me from this cell, I will get you the G.E.C.K."

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked. Fawkes sighed.

"You can't. You can only hope what I say is true. Even if it isn't... I saw what you just did to that Super Mutant. You dropped it with one bullet. I know what I'm risking should I lie to you."

Milly stared at the Super Mutant for a few moments, and I did the same. She was making sure she could let him out without danger, and I was trying to convey my thoughts to the green man:

Hurt Milly, and I will rip you to shreds.

Slowly, Milly started pushing buttons on a key pad not unlike the one that got us into this Vault. She kept at it for several minutes before the door to the cell finally opened. The Super Mutant walked out, and though it isn't possible for a Super Mutant to "grin", I could tell Fawkes was trying to.

"Finally... freedom! Now come along. I must fulfill my end of the bargain."

We didn't let our guard down at all. We needed to make sure he didn't turn on us. We wanted to be certain that he wasn't secretly serving the Super Mutants.

After he removed the head of one and threw it at another, we started trusting him more.

I'll never admit this again, but the big green man showed fury and power the likes of which I have never seen. It actually intimidated me a little. Milly's eyes were about as wide as they could safely be, and we were just watching as Fawkes cut down the Super Mutants coming to attack. The first few fell to a hammer, and the rest were cut down by an assault rifle he picked up.

Not one Super Mutant paid any attention to us. Milly didn't have to fire another shot, and I didn't have to lunge at anyone. We just silently followed.

Fawkes insisted on killing them all himself. Whenever we _tried_ to help, he'd tell us to wait back a little. It got so out of hand that the other Super Mutants started going from shouting "TIME TO DIE!" to "WE CAN WORK THIS OUT!"

Super Mutants (with the exception of Fawkes) are, by definition, very stupid creatures. They take up predictable positions and will on occasion forget to reload weapons. With my old human, I've seen Super Mutants shooting at a target for upwards of five minutes before realizing they were out of ammo. By then, the target usually got away.

Going back to the "predictable positions" thing, not one Super Mutant tried to attack us from behind. Milly and I would've made short work of any, sure, but... it's the principle of the thing.

At one point, Fawkes killed one particular Super Mutant and Milly shot it while it was laying dead on the floor. I later foudn out it was because she thought she saw it move, but at the time it was a lot like slamming the barn door after the horses ran out.

His rage is not to say that he escaped injury. Fawkes took many bullets as we fought our way to... wherever we were going. Some exited through his back, but Fawkes wasn't an average Super Mutant. He was very smart. After sustaining enough injury to irritate him, he broke down the door to a weapons cache and took some sort of see-through shield. He held it in front of his torso with one arm and held his weapon up with the other.

He was too big to fit completely behind the shield, but he wasn't trying to completely escape injury.

He was protecting that weak spot in the middle of his torso. After he was situated, he looked over his shoulder at Milly and gestured at the weapons cache.

"See anything you like?"

Milly walked into the little storage space and I followed. There were so many guns, pieces of armor, see-through shields, boom-balls, bang-balls, special-balls... it was almost awe-inspiring. Milly took a few moments to look around. She must've sensed my curiosity, because she would say the names of each weapon she looked at out loud.

By the time she was done looking, she picked up a "Kris" (some kind of curvy knife), another Beretta Tomcat (that small gun the scientist died using), and what looked like a better version of her M4A1 she called "Stay-ir AUG". She took as many magazines as she could hold for it and left her M4A1 behind.

"Okay, let's go."

Milly gestured for me to follow, and spared one last look at the M4A1. Though it was only a weapon, it saved her life on more than a few occasions. Leaving it was sort of like leaving a companion.

The moment we entered the next door, the gunfire started again. The see-through shield made a lot of noise when it blocked bullets, but it was working.

There were more Super Mutants in the last room, and they were even more aggressive. They really didn't want us going wherever we were going. Fawkes finally let Milly help out, but she wouldn't let me run in to fight, too. There was too much gunfire.

Milly took a bullet to the chest with a sickening "_SMACK"_, and she fell onto her back with a groan. I was on her in a second, but she smiled at me. No blood came from the wound.

"I'm wearing armor, boy. I'm crazy, not stupid."

She took a deep breath and touched the spot. She cringed. "That's still going to bruise up."

There was a loud groan as the last of the Super Mutants in the room fell. Milly slowly got to her feet and picked up her weapon.  
>"I am glad to see you're alright, my friend. Now, wait here. The G.E.C.K will be in the corridor to your right. I'll be back shortly. In the meantime, you should wait here in case any more of my half-witted brothers decide to show up."<p>

"Alright, we'll wait. Be quick, though."

Fawkes walked through a door (it slammed shut behind him). We could see him walking through the irradiated corridor through a window. Milly kept eyes on the other doorway, though. It was a good thing she did, too... because after a few moments passed, a Super Mutant walked through the doorway. She opened fire on it immediately.

It didn't stand a chance.

Another few seconds pass, and two more run into the room... but there was no place for them to take cover save for the doorway, and they already ran through it.

Milly took one out, and I bounded to the other. I crushed its throat and returned to her side.

Now, _four_ ran through the doorway and started firing on us. I ran to one of the three, and Milly started firing on the others. They didn't have anyplace to take cover, but... neither did she. It was a matter of who could become the smaller target, and Milly won.

A bullet came close to her head, though. _Very_ close... to the point where she actually shouted "That one nearly gave me a haircut!"

By then, the Super Mutant I was attacking was dead and I was working on a second while Milly used their weakness to her advantage. The two she engaged slumped to the floor, and the next one I attacked followed shortly after.

I returned to her side again, but I kept my eyes on the door.

"Fawkes, where are you?" she muttered. The doorway opened again and she held her gun up, but this time... something rolled into the room. Her eyes widened.

"Flashbang!"

To be on the receiving end of a bang-ball is sheer hell, especially if you're a dog. The ball (it's not really a ball; more of a can) explodes in bright light and lets out an ear-piercing _**BANG!**_

The overwhelming sight and sound knocked me onto my side. I was blinded by the bright light for a few moments and my ears were ringing loudly. I could just barely make out the gunfire and I felt myself being dragged somewhere.

Slowly my eyes returned to me and I was able to see who was dragging me- Milly. Having covered her eyes from the blast beforehand, she was able to drag me to a nearby desk and knock it over. We didn't use it for cover in the first place because it was not in sight of the door.

My ears were still ringing, though. I could see her weapon firing, but the sound was greatly dulled. I saw the door Fawkes walked into open, and I saw him unload the rest of his ammo on the Super Mutants, too. They all fell down, and Milly slowly lowered her weapon.

My hearing gradually returned to me. I could make out Milly and Fawkes' conversation, though it was still greatly distorted and muffled.

"Has promised, here's the deck. I hope it's girth hit."

(...I said I heard the conversation. I never said I could comprehend it.)

"Thanks. I initiate hats," said Milly. (I wasn't sure what she meant.)

"What fill you do now?" asked Fawkes.

(Around here, I was regaining my hearing some more.)

"I've got to take it somemace. And you?"

"Ah. I believe I will search this Vault for anything of use and then head for Underworld. Do not worry about me. I can find my own way."

Milly smiled at the Super Mutant. "You take care of yourself. I'll come visit you one day."

"And I await that day!"

Milly and Fawkes gingerly shook hands, and we were off.

T.T

Maybe if we had been paying more attention, we could have foreseen the ambush. Maybe then, Milly could have been prepared and taken down the man that her Dad tried to kill. Maybe I could have driven my teeth into his throat.

Maybe I could have been prepared for that familiar scent...

...but Milly and I had one concern after we got that "G.E.C.K" thing and one concern only:

Get the hell out of there!

We were sprinting down the halls, but we encountered no other Super Mutants. It was... strange, to say the least. I thought we'd encounter at least a few on the way out.

However, we ran into none. The bodies of those we fought to get the "G.E.C.K" were the only forms of Super Mutants we came across.

We entered one room, and something dropped from above. It looked like some type of container with several glowing holes in it. Milly had to stop so she didn't trip on it.

"What on earth is that..."

It started beeping rapidly, and I was tossed backward by the force of the explosion. My back connected with a wall and I sunk to the ground, stunned and losing my grip on reality. Milly too was thrown a distance away from the initial blast, and she lost her grip on the G.E.C.K, her Stay-ir AUG, and her knife.

The only weapon that landed even remotely close to her was her Beretta Tomcat. I could just barely move, my head was ringing, and my vision was blurry, but... I could still hear and see.

I was able to make out four humans (two metal men, the man Milly's Dad almost killed in the water cleaner, and someone I didn't recognize right away). Milly saw them, too, because she started dragging herself towards her Beretta Tomcat. I still was hardly able to move. She got her hand onto the small weapon, but one of the tin men kicked it out of her grasp.

"Secure the G.E.C.K, and get it onto my Vertibird," said the man that was supposed to be dead. The two bad tin men responded with "Yes, sir" and made a move for the G.E.C.K.

"You're certain _she's_ unharmed?" asked the undead man.

"Yes, sir. She'll pass out shortly, but we can revive her."

"Good."

A familiar scent came to me around then, and it was from that unknown human. My eyes blinked a few times, trying to register who it was, and it dawned on me.

_"...Cord."_

He turned his head to acknowledge me. I let out a weak snarl.

"Keep that mutt away from us, boy."

He ignored the undead man and slowly approached me.

"...Uh, hi."

_"...You... you're... but..."_

"I'm not proud of this," he said. "They gave me my humanity back in exchange to get Milly to answer some questions. I'm sorry."

I kept weakly snarling at him while my consciousness faded further.

_"You son of a bitch..."_

He frowned. "Sorry..."

"Boy! We have what we need. Let's go."

The last thing I saw before passing out was the tin men carrying away the G.E.C.K and Milly.

Cord left with them.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>8,924 words.<strong>

**Needed a break from this story. Got bored. Feel better. **

**I'm done with sentence fragments now.**

**Anyway, next chapter covers Milly's interrogation/exiting stage left, Cord's reaction to the loss of his treatment, and a T-Rex comes from a time machine and eats everyone.**

**I'm weighing whether or not to omit that last part.**


	12. Keeping Cord In Line I

**Chapter 10**

**Keeping Cord in Line I**

* * *

><p><strong>"If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed towards you."<strong>

**-Unknown**

* * *

><p>I regained consciousness for a few moments in the room we were ambushed in. I was too weak to move and my vision was still blurry. Everybody was gone... even Milly. I wanted desperately to get up and find her, but I had to close my eyes again.<p>

My consciousness returned again after a few minutes passed. This time, I saw a huge body in the doorway. It was a Super Mutant. He saw me and ran to my side. I wasn't able to tell if it was Fawkes or a random Super Mutant yet; my vision was still messed up and I was too weak to move. I didn't want to become dinner, though.

The Super Mutant lifted me and tossed me over his shoulder. It was Fawkes (a regular Super Mutant would've put me down and started eating me right away). I passed out again on his shoulder for a few seconds.

When my eyes opened again, I was being carried out of the Vault. I don't know if it was through the way we came in, the front door, or a wall or something. I was still out of it.

When I regained enough strength to move, Fawkes let me down onto the ground. I shook my head around a little to clear it, and I opened my eyes. I could see clearly again. I wouldn't be fainting any time soon.

Fawkes said nothing to me. I guess he figured that I couldn't understand him. I knew why he did what he did, though. He knew that Milly meant a lot to me, and I meant a lot to her. He's a good guy...

...a familiar scent was in the air, but it wasn't my human. It was that traitor... and he was not far off. I glanced up at Fawkes, and darted ahead with a bark. He started running after me, and we chased down Cord.

M.M

"Why do _I_ have to walk? Stupid Enclave..."

I had to watch them take off in their vertibird (they had no extra room for me, and they didn't think that waking Milly up and asking her to walk would work out so well). They left behind the asset that led them to the girl. Could've left behind one of the grunts... but _nooo_... they pick on the FNG.

"I should file a complaint. 'How was the Enclave's service in your opinion? Rate 0 as very poor and 10 as very good.'"

They told me to meet them back at the compound I stuck my deal at for further treatment to my condition. I'll admit that I half-willed myself to turn back so I can run faster. Leave it to the Enclave to stick me with a few weapons I'm no good at using. (They actually left me more than a CZ-75. They gave me a Steyr AUG they picked off of Milly, too.) Still, it doesn't help that I don't really know how to use that weapon.

I still carried it and several magazines of ammo with me. I estimate I'd hit a target every .18 percent of the time. Fully automatic weapons sound like a dream, but really they're no better than semi-automatics or burst-fire weapons. In fact, most people reccomend that you _avoid_ holding down the trigger. You only run out of ammo faster.

That's why snipers typically last a long while in the wastes. I heard of this one immigrant sniper that has a way of shooting up raiders and then vanishing. While that might sound sort of impressive, it's really what most snipers do. The other few are raider snipers.

Regular snipers tend to wear ghillie suits and take tactical positions to shoot. Raiders stand in broad daylight.

As I was walking, no deathclaws bothered me (I passed by a few). It wasn't because they were intimidated by me, though. They just didn't really know what to make of me. I walked like a human and looked like a human, but I didn't smell like a normal human.

Of course, before my mutation I didn't really smell like a normal human either. Megaton's plumbing in the common house is absolute shit. Most people go weeks without bathing.

The good news was, the walk to the Enclave's super-special secret base wasn't supposed to be long. Still, they left me behind. That's just plain rude.

I heard something behind me and when I turned, I saw nothing. In hindsight, I should've checked behind that bus. I might've saved myself a headache. Instead, I kept walking...

...but I heard the noise again not long after that. I turned around and saw Dogmeat... and he didn't look too happy with me.

"Oh, hi..."

He had me pinned to the ground in a second, and he was snarling and glaring at me.

_"You traitor! You useless traitor!"_

"I thought you'd be unconscious longer."

_"Tell me where she is! Do it now!"_

Dogmeat's jaws were literally half an inch from my throat.

"...You wouldn't kill a friend, Dogmeat."

_"No, I wouldn't kill a _friend!_ You are not my friend! It makes me sick to think that, for a moment, I actually cared about what happened to you!"_

I was silent. He didn't leave my throat and didn't let me up.

_"Milly and I were worried that you were killed at the water cleaner. She was crushed by her Dad's death, and she thought you died! She saved your life, you bastard! She gave you life for another day... and she did it with a smile on her face! _This_ is how you repay her?"_

"You think I wanted to do this?" I asked. He didn't let up. "You think I _wanted_ to sell her out? I didn't! They gave me my humanity back, though... I had no choice."

_"You don't need humanity to live, you jackass!"_

We were silent for a few moments, and Dogmeat finally took a breath. He stared at me through dull eyes and stopped snarling for a moment.

_"...You know, I think I see what you really are, Cord. You're not a deathclaw. You're a worm."_

"I was mutated!"

_"Everybody on this planet is mutated! Look around you, genius! Super Mutants are mutated, ghouls are mutated, _I _am mutated! As a result, I have an incredible tolerance for pain but I was sterilized during my mutation. You don't see me looking for the devil promising to mask things for me!"_

I was quiet again.

_"Tell me where she is, you piece of crap. Tell me, or I will rip your throat out and leave your body for the Yao Guai!"_

I was confident that he wouldn't really hurt me, so I stayed silent.

...Big mistake.

After a few seconds, he lurched forward and bit down on my throat. He didn't bite hard enough to kill me, but he did cut off my breathing. I started gagging and trying to pry his mouth from my throat, but to no avail. My heart started racing, and my oxygen ran out faster as my adrenaline started pumping. It wasn't long until I started seeing white spots and my vision was fading. I admit that I was convinced that my death was upon me...

...but just as I was about to pass out (and subsequently die, if he didn't stop), he released me. I took a huge breath of air and started coughing. Dogmeat continued snarling.

_"If you don't tell me what I want in 5 seconds, I'm not going to let go."_

I kept coughing and breathing fast. I eyed the dog in fear. He snarled violently, and I finally gave in.

"Alright, alright! The Enclave... they took her to the base I was heading to. They told me that they were just going to ask her questions and then send her on her way."

_"If you actually believed them, then you're dumber than I thought."_

I was silent. Dogmeat slowly got off of me. He started trotting slowly in the direction I was walking before I got stopped. I rolled onto my stomach to eye him. He turned his head partially to look at me.

_"This whole thing could have been avoided if you were more concerned for your companion and less concerned about your God damn humanity."_

"You're sparing me, and yet you'll kill raiders and slavers?" I asked. He kept walking without looking back at me.

_"I only kill those that are worth the effort."_

He kept walking. I slowly dragged myself to my CZ-75 (knocked out of my holster when I was taken down). Just as I got a hand on the gun, I was rolled over onto my back.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the butt-end of a Super Mutant's weapon.

0.0

My heart was beating in my ears, my head was throbbing, and a low whirring echoed through... wherever I was.

"Wake up..."

I couldn't open my eyes. That whirring noise... it was driving me crazy.

"Open your eyes."

I didn't want to. If I opened my eyes, the light would make my headache worse.

"The sooner you wake up, the sooner we can ask our questions and then off you go."

Slowly, I creaked my eyes open a little, and then I opened them all the way when the light wasn't so intense.

Before me sat the man that killed my father... the man that should have been dead.

For a few brief moments, the only thing that broke the silence in the room was that low whirring noise- a byproduct of the device I was being held captive in. I was unarmed and stripped down to my underwear. The only thing they let me keep (besides my dignity, more or less) was my Pip-Boy. I think they were afraid to remove it. Removing a Pip-Boy requires a _very_ steady hand. If you screw it up, you're liable to be electrocuted- as is the person attached to it, of course.

"Very good, you finally woke up. Now, let me be very clear: You are a captive of the Enclave only because you bear information we need. If you cooperate and tell me what I want to know, we will send you on your way."

"How are you still alive?" I asked. "My Dad flooded Project Purity with radiation. Either you're undead, or you're the only ghoul that's ever been left completely unchanged by the radiation."

"That is not your concern. You are not at liberty to ask questions here, miss. Now, tell me the code to activate Project Purity."

I took a breath. "You know, it's the darndest thing... but I can't remember. Each digit is somewhere between 0 and 9, though. I know that. Does that help?"

"I assure you, miss... this will go a lot smoother if you cooperate!"

"I think I _am_ cooperating. I'm telling you what I know."

"If you do not tell me the code, I will kill you."

I smiled sweetly at the man (I didn't catch his name). "But, I think I bumped my head when you knocked me out... you wouldn't kill a poor girl that can't remember a code, would you?"

He growled at me. I squinted in confusion. "Maybe it's 666. Did you try that?"

He was about to say something to me, but a voice on an intercom on the wall stopped him. I recognized the voice from the radio (not Galaxy News).

"Colonel, I have need of you."

"I am in the middle of something, sir. Can it wait?"

"Now, Colonel..."

He sighed in annoyance. "Yes, sir..."

Once the man left the room and the door shut, the intercom came alive again.

"I do apologize for Colonel Autumn's brash attitude. He's been a little over-worked lately, and it doesn't help that one of our assets endlessly tries to irritate him."

I was silent. The voice continued.

"I'd like us to meet, face to face. Come to my office. Make a right, climb the stairs, and head straight to the end of the hall. I will remove your binds, and your items and clothes are in the locker by the door."

The voice fell silent, and the whirring stopped. The device I was trapped in was de-activated, and immediately I walked over to the locker. The first thing I did was get dressed again, and I even replaced my armor. However, I no longer had my Steyr AUG. It was probably looted by one of these Enclave idiots... I was in the den of the enemy, and I simply would not leave the room without holding some sort of weapon that might help me. With no other choice, I chose my bolt-action rifle and a USP .45 I've carried ever since I dropped my .44 Magnum (my last resort weapon is a Beretta Tomcat, but so far I've never had to actually fire it. I hope I never have to).

The moment I left the room I was in, I was confronted with an Enclave Officer. I didn't harm him, but when he stopped me, the President chewed him out big time. I sort of zoned on what they said to one another, but I got the last part:

"Please report to your superior for reassignment, Sergeant."

"Yes, sir. Uhh, sorry miss."

After he left and I started walking again, Eden got on the intercom to the entire base.

"Attention all Enclave personnel. This is your president, John Henry Eden. I have invited our guest to my quarters, and she is not to be interrupted in any way, nor is she to be harmed. Violate these orders... and you will be liquidated. Have a nice day."

I did not say a word to any Enclave scum I came across while I walked through the base. It took a lot to get to Eden without any bloodshed. I had a few colorful words I wanted to say to him, anyway.

I remember that Autumn (I refuse to call him by his rank) tried to belay the order Eden made. He got on the intercom and made orders to shoot me on sight... but by then I was already in Eden's office, and the only things in there besides the president are robots. Those robots were controlled by Eden, too. They wouldn't try to shoot me.

Eden's office was a room full of wires and stairs. I never saw an office like this before. I didn't even see any sign of the president at first. I reasoned that he must be at the top of the staircase, so I started my long journey to the top.

I don't know how many stories up Eden was actually located, but the entire time I trudged up the steps I cursed him for having such a weird office. Why must people viewed as more important than anyone else be suspended above the ground? Moreover, why _Eden_, of all people? The man was a perfect politician- he had no heart, he had no soul, and his head and butt were interchangeable.

By the time I got to the top of the steps, my feet were sore and my legs were shaking. I exerted more energy just climbing in those several minutes than I ever did walking in the wastes... or at least, it felt like that.

As I caught my breath, I simply stared at the large computer before me. There was no desk, no seat, and no human being besides myself.

"At last we meet, face to face."

"Face to face? Where are you, then?

"Dear girl, I stand before you! President John Henry Eden, at your service. I do apologize once more for the Colonel's attitude. He is what he is, though."

"If I wasn't going to tell Autumn the code, what makes you think I'll tell you? Start at 000, and work your way up from there."

"Oh, I have no interest in the code. That's the Colonel's goal. I simply want to ask a favor of you."

"Why would I owe you a favor?"

"You don't, but you're very patriotic, and... I think you'll see things my way. Just hear what I have to say, and then you're free to go."

I sighed, and crossed my arms. "You've got 30 seconds."

"Project Purity is an excellent idea and I am always impressed with what your father did for it. Personally, I do not see how who activates it matters, so long as clean water is available to the wasteland. Our reports say that there were many Super Mutant bodies in and around Project Purity, so I ask you this: How do you feel about Super Mutants?"

"16 seconds."

"Please answer my question."

"I'm not a huge fan... now can we get on with this?"

"What if I told you that I had a way to destroy the Super Mutants running wild through the wasteland once and for all? What if I said that I had a way to end all mutations?"

My eyes widened a little. "What do you mean?"

Before me, a vial came out of the base of the monitor. I glanced down at it for a second, and then looked back at Eden.

"This... is a modified version of the FEV- the Forced Evolutionary Virus. All I ask is that you add this when you activate Project Purity. By doing so, you will cleanse our fair land of any horrible mutations, while leaving pure, clean Americans like yourself perfectly healthy. Can you do this for me?"

John Henry Eden was an AI gone mad. He was talking about a mass genocide to benefit the minority. There was no way I was going to do that, but I had a feeling that he would not let me leave until I took the vial, so that's what I did. After that, a door behind him opened.

"You will find yourself in the Capital Wasteland once you leave-"

"Mr. President, you need to do away with the Enclave once and for all. You need to destroy it."

It just... came out. I wanted desperately to kill Autumn, and I knew he was still here. Also, it would be like removing a thorn from the Capital Wasteland's side. Anybody with half a brain hated the Enclave's Radio station.

Needless to say, there was a lengthy pause. Finally, Eden responded.

"And why should I do that?"

"So many of your Enclave soldiers are evil. They kill and rob innocents, they loot, they rape... is this really your American Government?"

"They loot and rob criminals. I have no problem with that."

"I saw Autumn kill an unarmed scientist with my own eyes. She was no threat."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot honor your request."

"Yes, you can. You are an AI. You are not a human."

There was another pause.

"No, I am the President of the United States. I am John Henry Eden."

"You are JHE 00051. Ping defensive options."

I heard a beep.

"Defensive options: Pre-emptive strike, self liquidation, and fail safe."

"Ping self liquidation in 2 minutes."

There was one final pause, and Eden responded.

"Self Liquidation to occur in t-minus 2 minutes... 1:59, 1:58, 1:57..."

After the countdown started, I wasted no time. I started running out through the exit.

As I ran, I passed by many deathclaws that were locked in devices similar to what I was held in, only they were all unconscious. None of them wore the bandana that I gave Cord, so I knew that he wasn't here.

...At least, I _hoped_ he wasn't here. If he was, he'd probably fight his way out and back me up.

As I ran, I held my bolt-action rifle (I called it "Bolt"). I ran into a few Enclave scientists and troops. The scientists would flee whenever they saw me, and I saw no reason to waste my ammunition on them if the explosion would simply kill them.

However, I _did_ have to kill a few soldiers... They tried to pin me down in one corridor until the timer ran out (they likely heard my chat with Eden, because the intercom was not blaring warnings about self destruction). My Pip-Boy was keeping time, too. I had about 0:45 seconds left.

Between shots, I managed to take one down with a well aimed bullet. I kept the other two down with my USP .45 until I passed by, and then I started sprinting to the exit.

They were using energy weapons, and the problem with energy weapons is...they're really only good from medium to close range. There's no such thing as a laser sniper rifle for a reason.

My adrenaline got me far enough from those two troops to be safe-ish from harm. I got hit a few times, but my armor protected me. By then, however... I was already out the door.

My eyes watered up when I saw Dogmeat viciously tearing through soldier after soldier, and Fawkes was unloading on more of these horrible men with a gatling laser. Though the former was only a dog, he seemed... furious. Even when he was shot, Dogmeat rarely let more than a grimace out. Right now, he was being hit by quite a few laser strikes from one soldier he wasn't able to focus on yet.

In fact, it was getting to the point where he was starting to feel it. If I didn't help out, he could get really hurt. I took aim with Bolt, and... I blew a hole in the offending soldier's chest.

"Stop shooting my dog!" I shouted. My Pip-Boy said I had 5 seconds left... I didn't have time to say hello, take dog tags (I take dog tags from Enclave soldiers so they can't be identified), or even smile. I simply acknowledged my two friends and we ran as fast as we could from the Enclave Base.

If there was ever a more satisfying sound than that base being destroyed, I never heard it.

The first explosion wasn't too loud at first. It was likely the explosion that destroyed any supporting beams in the facility. The _second_ explosion, however... it was much louder. That particular explosion was likely linked to any technology or intel that they couldn't risk leaving. It was an explosion that took place anew in every room inside that base.

It was such a large blast that it actually shook the ground we stood on, even as we ran 200 feet and on. Rock from around the base flew in all directions. Bodies were sent flying in lots of little pieces. Some Enclave scum was on fire while hurtling through the air.

I know that I could have just as easily left the base with the modified FEV and attacked it later... but it was _so_ pretty...

"It is... wonderful to see that you're alright, my friend!"

I looked over my shoulder at Fawkes. He too was staring at the smoldering remains of the Enclave Base.

"Thanks so much for bringing my dog, Fawkes. Why'd you come here, anyway?"

"When I saw what happened to you, I made myself scarce. I actually just played dead in a room full of my fallen brethren. They did not see me. After what you did for me, I _had_ to help you in return."

"Well, looks like you got a toy out of it, too!"

Fawkes looked at the gatling laser he was holding. "Yes! This certainly feels a more... suitable weapon for my being. More suitable than an assault rifle, anyway!"

I smiled, and he continued.

"Anyway, After I picked up your dog, he came to and must've picked up your scent. He attacked one of the straggling Enclave members that kidnapped you and then we came here."

Dogmeat nudged my leg and I smiled down at him, and I scratched behind his ears the way he likes.

"Thanks for helping me out, buddy. I tell you what- once we get some distance between us and this base, I'll dress your wounds. Then, we'll head back to the Brotherhood of Steel, okay?"

He barked. I looked back at Fawkes.

"What will you do now?" I asked. He looked over his shoulder.

"I will go to Underworld like I said. Come by anytime. You're a good person."

"As are you. Take care, and thanks again!"

With that, Fawkes and I went our seperate ways. Dogmeat must have been worried about me, because he wouldn't let me get more than five feet from him. Whenever I tried, he'd let out a low whine and follow me. He's a great dog, but he can be a little overprotective sometimes...

...then again, that works both ways. Sometimes I'll be a little overprotective of him. Dogmeat can get really bad tunnel vision. Once he finds something he decides he wants to attack, eat, drink, or play with, he's going to do whatever he wanted to do. If I threw a ball into a mine field (I wouldn't), I bet he throws caution to the wind and bounds forward.

As we walked, the base behind us smoldered. I could hear Vertibirds flying away from the wreck, too... probably carrying the Enclave's higher level "assets".

I hoped Autumn was not one of them.

M.M

I was speechless for a few moments, eyeing the smoking Enclave stronghold a mile ahead of me. My heart pounded in my ears, and... for a bit, I was cold.

I felt chilled. Just seconds ago I was walking towards the stronghold for my treatment (and Milly)... but the base exploded and sent debris in all directions. The blast was strong enough to send a large boulder in my direction. It would have hit me if I didn't fall on my rear during the blast.

Eden had my humanity. He held the key to my life. Now... it was gone. My life was _gone._ That which I gave up Milly for was _gone._

For a few moments, I wanted to fall to my knees and cry. I wanted to curse the wasteland's sick sense of humor and I wanted to throw a tantrum. Indeed, I prepared to do just that. The Steyr AUG clattered to the ground and I fell to my knees, but no tears leaked from my eyes.

Instead of extreme sadness, I felt hatred. I felt a _burning_ hatred. I knew who was responsible. Deep down... I knew it. Milly blew up the base. I know her, and I know that she's capable of doing just that.

She tried to destroy the man that killed her father. In that attempt she stole my treatment. My fists clutched at the ground slowly, and I looked down at the AUG.

"Fine," I said to nobody. "If I can't have my humanity, then Three Dog's 'Last, best hope of humanity' can't have _life."_

I picked up her weapon. Deep down, I knew I would not stand a chance against her if I simply chose to shoot at her, and Dogmeat would probably try to kill me first. I decided that... I would carry the guns. If I was not back to my previous form before I found her, I would kill Milly with her own weapon. I would shoot her from behind, and while I know that isn't fair... neither is busting my hump for my treatment to get cooked.

I opted to try and kill Dogmeat with a few to the head- all if I was still human when I found them.

If I _wasn't,_ well... this would be easier. I knew just where she would be going, too.

Knowing her, she'd go back to the Brotherhood with what she learned. After that, she'd probably attack the remaining Enclave at Project Purity. It's what _I _would do.

I cursed her as I walked. She took away that which I was working for. All that I did was for nothing. If that's the case, then I'll open fire on a few important-looking things in Project Purity, too. I wonder how much she'd like it if that which she worked for was no longer useful?

My anger outdid my better judgement. After an hour or two walking, I found a Yao Guai. My rage got me to start shooting at it. Angry as I was, I missed most of my shots. As it got closer, though... I managed to get a few more hits.

And then it knocked the AUG out of my hands and pinned me to the floor. It roared in my face and I struggled beneath its paws, trying to free one arm so I could grab my sidearm. It wouldn't budge, though...

...at least, not until a few hundred pounds of deathclaw bounded into it and sent it careening into a nearby boulder.

Before it was even able to stand again, she was ripping it to shreds. It didn't manage a shot. I recognized the deathclaw, though. It was Kastine. I crawled to the AUG and picked it back up while she continued to have her way with the pile of pink mush that was once a Yao Guai.

While she killed it, I started trying to walk off again. I didn't get far before she put her paws on my shoulders and stopped me.

_"Hey! I just saved your life, asshole! The least you can do is thank me... and tell me why you look like a human again."_

"Just... mind your business and go back to the sanctuary," I grumbled. After that, I tensed up. Kastine gently dug a claw into my neck (without breaking the skin). She put her snout on my other shoulder. I could feel her glare.

_"You want to go ahead and re-phrase that?"_ she asked. I nodded, my heart now pounding. Her claws eased up a bit.

_"Tell me a story, Cord."_

"Those men in the black armor gave me my humanity back with some kind of treatment..."

I told Kastine everything that happened while I was away. I told her what I did with Milly, how I helped her find her Dad, how he died, how I struck a deal with John Henry Eden (I had to explain who that was), and now why I was trying to find and kill the girl I previously allied myself with. While I spoke, Kastine did something totally out of character:

She actually listened to me. She didn't interrupt me and point out how strange it must look for a human to speak to a deathclaw until after I finished. (I never pay mind to that fact anymore... all things considered).

"..so now... I have a score to settle."

I tried to walk off, but Kastine stopped me again. She looked in the direction I was facing.

_"You know, I found your friend not long ago, too. I carried her to one of the human settlements and talked with her dog. Those two aren't the kind of wanderers that would intentionally mess up your precious "human" treatment."_

"Yeah, well radiation didn't _intentionally_ turn me into a deathclaw, either."

_"You don't try to kill radiation."_

I stared up at her.

"That's because radiation isn't a living thing," I said, exasperated. Kastine snorted.

_"Neither was this 'John Henry Eden', from the way you speak of him. He sounds like a metal man made by the humans, if you ask me."_

I nodded. "He was."

_"Cord, I was never a human, nor do I ever want to be. However, if I _did_ become one through some force of nature, I wouldn't drive myself half-insane trying to return to my true form. Want to know what makes you different from me?"_

"What?"

_"I'm smart enough to know when I'm beat. You're the idiot that keeps trying to win when you can't."_

I growled. "What's your point?"

_"You should make the best of your mutation, that's what. You can be the top predator in the wasteland again, and you have friends both human and deathclaw. Either that, or... you can be the weird guy in denial that has no friends to speak of after he killed them all."_

I was silent for a few moments. Kastine continued.

_"Accept who you are and reap the benefits. Those black armor men are bad news. They're the ones that are responsible for who you became in the first place, Cord. If anyone, you should be angry at them. At least that girl saved your life SEVERAL TIMES."_

"But... my humanity..."

_"Cord, if you say "my humanity" one more time... I'm going to rip your throat out. You don't need to be human to live."_

I fell silent again. Kastine gently nudged me in the direction I was walking.

_"Fine, go find her. Go ahead, kill the human girl that saved your life. Go kill the only other person that actually cares about you."_

I started walking off slowly, thinking of what Kastine said. She continued as I walked.

_"Or, you can... you know, _help_ her. Either way. It's your choice."_

Kastine did not convince me to spare Milly and assist her. She _did_, however, get me to think while I walked.

Do I accept what I've been for what feels like forever, or do I kill the one took my humanity? I kept tossing the choices back and forth in my head as I walked, and minutes turned to hours. Eventually, I felt a sharp pain in my gut and I lurched forward, once again dropping the Steyr AUG. The pain spread to every part of my body, and I fell to the floor.

Whatever I did now didn't make a difference. I really _was _still going to be a deathclaw again.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>5,637 words.<strong>

**Rather than have this and next chapter as one, I decided to split them. It will look better that way.**

**I had a bit to drink by the time I was writing the end and I never bothered to re-read it, so odds are it got pretty f**king weird. The drink was lovely, though.**

**I had this chapter done a few days ago, but I couldn't upload it because my internet is being mean.**

**Next chapter covers Cord deciding on whether or not to try and kill Milly, and the attack on the Jefferson Memorial, and Godzilla breakdances.**


	13. Keeping Cord In Line II

**Chapter 11**

**Keeping Cord in Line II**

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><p><strong>"Incoming artillery has the right of way."<strong>

**-Infantry Journal**

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><p>"Milly, there you are! We were beginning to worry about you."<p>

"The Enclave was waiting at Vault 87 for me," she said. "They staged an ambush and captured me."

"...The G.E.C.K?"

She sighed. I looked up at "Elder Lion", as she called him.

"Lost to us."

"The Enclave has the G.E.C.K?"

"They've likely already installed it into Project Purity."

"Then we have no time to lose! Meet Lyon's Pride in the lab. They'll be with Scribe Rothchild."

"One more thing before I do that: I blew up the base Autumn took me to. I don't know if I managed to kill him, though. A few vertibirds escaped the area. That's not what I wanted to tell you, though. Before I blew it up, I met John Henry Eden. He told me that he wanted me to do something for him."

Elder Lion crossed his arms. "What did he ask?"

Milly produced a small vial from her pocket. I stared at it in curiosity.

"He wanted me to add this vial of modified FEV to Project Purity's filters. By doing so, the waters would become contaminated with it, and according to Eden, it would exterminate all non-pure bodies that drank from it. It would be a mass genocide."

Elder Lion actually stumbled back a few steps, and I saw fear enter the man's eyes. Typically, he showed no fear.

"Oh, my Lord! And you said?"

She offered him the vial. "I only said I would because he wouldn't let me leave if I didn't."

Elder Lion relaxed the moment she said that and gratefully took the vial.

"Thank you, Milly. I will see that this is disposed of safely. Now, please. Go to my daughter and tell her what happened."

Milly nodded and we jogged downstairs to the lab. When we got to Lion's daughter, she gestured to my human. Her name was Sarah, and she looked sort of like my Milly... except the former was a little older... and compared to her, Milly was as good with weapons as Cord was with trust.

"The Enclave has the G.E.C.K. It's only a matter of time before they activate Project Purity," said Milly (she interrupted whatever Sarah was saying to her group- they called themselves "Lion's Pride").

Sarah stopped talking completely and eyed Milly. "They caught me by surprise, and they tried to get the code to start the purifier from me. I told them nothing."

Sarah seemed a little relieved. "That's good... but if they have the G.E.C.K, we have little time to waste! They will figure out the code eventually... we need to strike them now!"

"We can do little to harm the Enclave as long as those barriers isolate Project Purity," said one man with a big weapon that shot beams of light (it was the same that Fawkes had). Sarah looked towards Scribe Rothchild.

...They had some kind of telepathic conversation, because no words were exchanged, but Rothchild shrunk back.

"Sarah, no! It's not ready! It needs a little more time."

"What needs a little more time?" asked Milly. She was ignored.

"We have no time to spare, and there's really nothing else we can do. I don't want to know what they might do with that G.E.C.K... or Project Purity."

"Its lens' are not completely calibrated, and we're not even sure if it will walk. Also, we don't know if the combat inhibitor is online!"

"That's a risk we have to take, Rothchild. You _must_ activate it."

"Activate what?" asked Milly.

"...I need to speak with your father, then... I'm sure he'll see how bad using it could turn out."

"Using _what?_" asked Milly, annoyed. Neither Rothchild or Sarah said a word, but the former gestured to the Iron Giant in the center of the room.

Milly actually stepped back. "_That_ thing? I thought that was just a decoration!"

"It's called "Liberty Prime", Milly. It's not 100% complete yet, but... I feel like we're going to need it," said Sarah.

Milly looked at Sarah. "What kind of weaponry does Megatron here have?" (I remembered that name from a comic book she read once. They don't work if you're not looking at the pictures).

Sarah smiled. "Okay, get ready... because this is a mouth-full: .50 caliber machine guns that are capable of firing upwards of 3000 rounds per minute, 5.64 optic high power lasers for assault on defensive positions, 500+ anti-air and anti-land smart missles capable of taking targets out from a mile and a half away, three foot thick armor plating, and finally, override abilities. Liberty Prime here will get us through the barrier the Enclave put up around the Jefferson Memorial."

"It can do all that?" asked Milly.

"...Well, either it does all of that, or it collapses in a heap two steps out the gate."

Before Milly could say another word, Sarah continued. "There is one last thing we need to discuss before we head out," she said. Two tin men stepped forward with tin armor on. One was holding fat tin armor- the stuff most of them wore, and the other was holding thin tin armor- it looked easier to move around in.

"For all the work you have done, for all the obstacles that hindered your progress... you improvised, adapted, and overcame. You demonstrated sheer determination, exceptional training with weaponry, and quick thinking. For these reasons, you are invited to become a member of the Brotherhood of Steel- you are invited to become a member of Lyon's Pride."

Milly was silent for a few moments, and she just... stared at the armor in surprise. She looked at what she was currently wearing, and then back at the armor.

"Which will it be? Battle armor or recon armor? Even if you don't want to join us, I was instructed to offer you the armor, anyway. We'd show you how to control yourself in it."

Milly held a hand out after a few seconds. "I'm okay with what I wear now. This armor has protected me through many battles, and I fought hard to even gain it. It's not called "Dragon Skin" for nothing..."

Sarah was silent for a few moments, but Milly smiled again. "However, I am honored to be invited to Lyon's Pride, and I accept. Just let me wear what I already own."

This time, Sarah smiled. "We'll make you a dogtag, then! Congratulations on your new position... but let's get down to business. Rothchild?"

Rothchild was silent. I had walked over to Milly's other side by now, so I didn't see the look Sarah shot the old man. It must've been vicious, though... because the old man actually almost fell backwards. Once he regained his composure, he dove to the button-box in front of the Iron Giant and started pressing buttons.

After a few seconds, lights around whatever the Iron Giant stood on lit up. The platform holding the big metal man slowly started rising up, and the ceiling opened above him. Sarah beckoned for Milly and the others to follow her. I stayed close to my human as we walked. She smiled down at me and talked to me.

"Hey, be careful when we get out there, buddy. I don't know what I'd do if they hurt you," she said. I looked up at her, willing my eyes to say something like "The feeling is mutual". I don't know if she got it, though. Curse my inability to speak human!

When we made it outside, the Iron Giant was being hoisted over the walls of the tin men base to the wasteland. Sarah whistled for a few other members of her little group to follow her.

'Lyon's Pride' was not the only group that was attacking with us. A good portion of the 'Brotherhood of Steel' was attacking along with us. Lyon's Pride was the good tin men's equivalent of what my old human called 'Special Forces'. They were elite soldiers, and I had a feeling that the bad tin-men would not be going down without a fight.

"Primary weapons online," boomed a new voice that made me jolt. I looked up at the Iron Giant in surprise.

"Secondary weapons nominal. Scanning air space for hostile rotor wings or weaponry..."

Two rockets flew from the Iron Giant's shoulders as it slowly walked. I saw a flying machine explode in the distance, and something smaller burst into flames, too.

Now, the Iron Giant looked at the ground.

"Scanning for IEDs... negative. Ground troops clear to proceed."

Several more rockets flew from the Iron Giant's shoulders as it slowly lumbered forward. None of the tin men had to fire a shot yet; we weren't close enough to the water cleaner. Still, it was tough to even walk. With each step the Iron Giant took, the ground shook and rock was sent everywhere. It bounced off of my body more than once, and Milly winced every so often, too. She would never complain about the choice not to wear the tin man's armor, though. My human is almost as stubborn as I am.

"Troops, be advised: FLIR is picking up at least 25 heat signatures taking up tactical positions to the north. Tenderizing the meat..."

The tops of the Iron Giant's shoulders opened and more missiles flew forth at an angle. Rather than attack flying machines or other missiles, they flew to the ground a few hundred feet ahead of us.

"To arms, brothers! Open fire!"

The Iron Giant stopped moving for a little while to help as the good tin men attacked the bad ones.

I was more there for Milly to provide morale support. I don't mean to brag, but I _was_ tough... however, Milly won't let me help in a battle if there are too many targets. She would insist that I stay by her side.

We had never been in a battle like this before then. Most fights Milly and I got into were with small, petty groups of raiders that can easily be taken down. I don't count that one time we cleared the slaver camp because most of the guys in it were no good with their weapons. Milly says that they relied too heavily on the slave collars, so they never really practiced with their weapons.

When she has excess ammo, she practices.

This group of bad tin men were heavily armed and well trained. It was elite on elite, and just how good with guns Milly actually was became apparent.

When compared to raiders, slavers, and Super Mutants... Milly was extremely dangerous. When we were in the tunnels, she was incredible... but that was because the bad tin men thought that it would be an easy victory.

They did not underestimate her this time.

The armor she wore she called "Dragon Skin". It was one of the highest quality body armors available before the humans blew up the world. Very powerful weapons such as the AK-47 were no match for Dragon Skin. Energy Weapons were useless except for close quarters combat. Even some armor piercing rounds had trouble with it.

Milly took several bullets the moment she was in range, all to her torso (that's where soldiers are trained to aim). Her body jerked this way and that and she crumbled to the floor, but not one bullet penetrated the armor.

Still, she was stunned. I wondered what the good tin men thought of her denial of their armor for a moment, but I shrugged it off after seeing that the bullets had more or less the same effect on tin armor. They'd hurt, but not necessarily kill.

"I'm going to need to fix this armor when we're done, Dogmeat!"

She got back up and took aim with Bolt, this time crouching so she wouldn't be hit easily. The Iron Giant paused a moment to deal with incoming flying machines. Milly fired a few shots and the tin man she was shooting at went down.

"Tango down!" she shouted.

Looking around, the rest of the good tin men gained the upper hand. The bad guys started falling back, and Sarah shouted "Press the attack!"

The Iron Giant continued marching forward, and bullets pattered off of its body constantly. No matter how many times it was hit, the big metal man simply kept walking.

"Communism is a sign of weakness," its voice boomed. It marched up to a pretty colored wall and put its hands on it.

"All ground personnel hold until this iron curtain is torn down!"

A loud crackling noise echoed through the air and I jolted. The pretty colored wall was emitting sparks, and then it vanished. The Iron Giant began walking again.

"Troops are clear to proceed."

The good tin men started walking forward with the Iron Giant leading them. I continued to stay by Milly's side. For a few moments, the firefight stopped. We all thought we won for a moment, but out of nowhere an explosion made contact with the Iron Giant's chest. It didn't stumble or even flinch. Instead, it unloaded one of its big machine guns on the source of the explosive. The explosion left a rather noticeable darkened dent in the armor, though.

"Troops, be advised- enemy is using a TSI. FLIR is offline until further notice."

Bullets started firing again, and this time the bad tin men got the drop on us. Two, three, four, _five_ good tin men crumbled to the ground almost simultaneously. Sarah backed up a little. The Iron Giant started searching for the sources.

"Ambush! Take cover!"

The bad tin men had fight in them, that's for sure. The closer we got to the water cleaner, the harder it was to progress. The Iron Giant could have walked up to the big memorial with ease, but it must have been designed to assist the good tin men if anything went wrong.

They started off losing minimal numbers. By the time we were at the front door, two-thirds of the troops died and were subsequently replaced.

I'd like to say that the good tin men won an undisputable victory, but that's not so. The deaths on each side got so bad that it's hard to say who won the battle, though I know who won the war.

They had the good tin men pinned down behind some rocks and man-made barricades. The bad tin men were in some kind of last stand mode. They took down many more of the good tin men from their spots, and their numbers were now few.

The Iron Giant helped take care of their remaining forces. A handful of the good tin men ran with Milly and I into the water cleaner.

The door we always walk into to get to the water cleaner leads into a long stretch of hallway with various corridors leading to doorways and dead ends. Milly took to calling the doorway the "Suicide Door" because upon entry, there's no cover. The best anyone can do is lay down or run.

The Suicide Door lived up to its name that day. The first three good tin men sent in before Milly, Sarah and I were immediately cut down. Milly instinctively reached for a bang-ball from her belt (she had a few left over from the Vault) and threw it into the room.

"Flash out!"

I don't know for sure why, but this time when the bang-ball went off, I wasn't dazed. Maybe it's because the hallway directed the sound or something. I'm not complaining. The bang-ball must've worked, if the pained groans of the bad tin men were any indication.

The moment the ball went off, Milly and Sarah entered the doorway and started shooting. I took it upon myself to bound forward against Milly's wishes this time. Because we were indoors, there were likely fewer bad guys.

While she and Sarah killed three bad tin men, I took down a fourth.

With them down, Sarah stopped Milly for a moment (I returned to her side before the tin men in the nearby room could hurt me).

"We need to clear the rest of these guys out before we move on to Project Purity," she said. She looked at the Suicide Door, and then back at Milly.

"I'll get a bunch more guys to help us."

Milly shook her head. "You guys worry about the other rooms. I'm here for those taking over Project Purity."

Sarah didn't blink. For a moment, her facial features were frozen.

"Are you sure?" she finally asked. Milly nodded.

"I escaped their clutches twice with Bolt here. I can do this."

Sarah nodded. "Right, then be careful- hey, I need a breaching charge here!"

I made sure nobody ran up the hall while Milly and Sarah continued speaking. Sarah was showing her a large explosive device.

I was expecting some to show up, but I reasoned that they might be just waiting.

"This button arms, you stick it to the wall or door, get beside it, and cover your ears. It'll be loud."

I glanced up at Milly for a second. She took the device and nodded. "I got it."

With that, we ran through the hallway before any of the bad tin men in the other rooms got a chance to hurt us. We were on that door in a second.

Milly did as Sarah instructed. She slammed the device on the door (a firefight between the good and bad tin men started a few rooms back), and pushed the button. Then, she and I got to one side of the door, and it blew.

Because Milly was untrained in advanced military combat (the only country that rebuilt enough to have an united standing army is a place called "Russia"), she wasn't trained on what to expect after breaching a new room. She brought her weapon up, but the remaining dust in the air obscured our vision. Something metal hit the back of my head and I fell to the floor, and someone else knocked Milly's weapon away and sent her to the floor, too.

Had I not been surprised (it was as if they expected us to do that), I would've lunged at the man aiming at Milly. The dust slowly settled, and I could see two bad tin men holding Milly at gunpoint.

I slowly stood up and shook my head around to clear it. Once I did, I lunged at one of the bad tin men but got knocked back several feet very quickly.

This time, I wasn't getting up. My leg was impaled on some loose debris from the door. All I could do was watch.

Milly slowly tried to draw her sidearm, but the bad tin man knocked it away, too. Though it felt like longer, they were actually only holding her for a few seconds before a familiar deathclaw bolted through the door.

Cord moved too quickly for me to notice whatever he was holding. He sliced the throat of one surprised bastard, and he stabbed the other before he got a chance to fire.

I was still very angry with him, but I had to give him credit. That might have been the best performance I'd ever seen of him in combat.

"Cord..." Milly whispered, in surprise. He gingerly held out one paw and helped her up. By then, I got a better look at what he was holding- it was that Stay-ir AUG he stole from her.

"Milly," he said. She stared wide-eyed at him. He smiled and held out her weapon.

"This belongs to you."

She gratefully took the gun and looked up at him.

"Where have you been?" she asked. I growled lowly at him. He turned his head partially to acknowledge me, but otherwise said nothing of his betrayal.

"...I'll explain later."

Now, Milly saw what happened to me and rushed to my side with a shriek.

"Oh, Dogmeat! You poor thing... don't worry, you'll be fine."

I actually was 100% certain that I'd be fine. It was my leg that was injured, not my heart.

I refused to say a word to Cord as she gently freed me from the sharp piece of metal. Once she did that, she gave me one of those stimpack things and looked around the water cleaner. Then, she looked back at me.

"Don't worry, boy... once I check-"

She was interrupted by footsteps. Both she and Cord turned quickly to the sound, and we saw the undead man slowly descending from the control center of the water cleaner. Milly turned all the way around to him and pointed her Stay-ir AUG.

"Revelation 21:6..." muttered the bad man. "Of course."

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>3,460 words.<strong>

**The lay of this chapter left something to be desired to me. It's not as long as I hoped, and... I don't really like the beginning. The end's okay, I guess.**

**FLIR stands for "Forward Looking Infared". IED stands for "Improvised Explosive Device. TSI is fake, but stands for "Thermal Signature Inhibitor".**

**Next chapter will probably be brief, because I don't have much to cover. It covers killing Autumn and activating Project Purity. **

**That's not the end. After next, there's 6 real chapters left, and then the trivia chapter.**


	14. Remember My Family

**Chapter 12**

**Remember My Family**

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><p><strong>"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."<strong>

**-Nathan Hale**

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><p>Kastine was right. I had no right to blame Milly for my condition. I sold her out, and now it was my job to help her in any way that I can.<p>

I told myself that I'd be on the road to redemption if I could stop the Enclave from activating Project Purity. For a brief moment, when I saw Autumn walk down the stairs from the control room, I thought I failed...

"You... activated Project Purity?" asked Milly, a hint of sadness in her voice. He put his hand on his holster and shook his head.

"Of course not. It would be unwise to activate your device while you were simply being held, judging by how effective we've been so far at holding you. Turning my back on the doorway and leaving myself open after you freed yourself would be very stupid."

"You should've done it. You already made one stupid mistake- you killed my Dad. It doesn't matter what you do here. You're not leaving this room alive," said Milly. Autumn ignored what she said and looked up at me.

"Have you not been taking your medication?"

"It was a mistake to do what I did. I can live with this form... but not with myself..."

Before Milly even said a word, I muttered "I'll explain later" to her, and she nodded.

Autumn turned away from Milly. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, you know. I'm simply trying to do what's best for America."

"Have you ever heard of that magical land called 'Russia'? They've done very well at rebuilding without falling back to negative eugenics," I said.

"Be that as it may-"

"Autumn... face me."

I looked down at Milly and she handed me her weapon.

"You want a real American gunfight? Why don't we try the good old fashioned duel?"

(I thought that was a pretty stupid idea, but... you ever try to tell Miss 101 that she's wrong?)

Autumn turned his head partially, but otherwise did not move.

"Go back to your home in Megaton, girl. I'm warning you."

"Face me... or are you afraid to shoot at someone that will shoot back?"

"You're trying my patience, miss 101..." said Autumn through clenched teeth.

Milly responded with two bullets to either side of the man.

"You killed my father!" she screamed. This time, Autumn whirled around to face her.

"And I will kill you, too, you squirming little parasite!"

I really wish I could say that the fight between Autumn and Milly was a long, drawn out fight that Milly escaped unharmed... I wish I could say that she kept it going on intentionally... but that's not how this sort of thing worked.

Autumn whirled around to shoot her, and Milly pulled her secondary weapon from its holster. Both humans fired their weapons, and both hit their targets- more or less. Both fired several times, but only one shot each landed.

Milly's bullet caught Autumn in the upper left portion of his torso, and if I were a betting deathclaw, I'd say that the bullet ripped through a few important blood vessels. Had what happened next not occurred, he would have still died...

..._Autumn _got the luckiest shot I have ever seen. Milly was wearing very strong armor called "Dragon Skin", and most of the time it laughs off laser shots. Milly took a few actual bullets on the fight to Project Purity, though (I saw the corpses outside), and Autumn managed a one in a million shot:

The laser beam hit a spot on the armor that was already weakened by a bullet. Normally, that still wouldn't be a problem- but this beam must've caught it _dead_ _center._ It tore through the weakened armor and into Milly's left breast. I inwardly died when I saw her fall backwards to the ground, blood running from the wound. If left untreated, the wound would kill her. Even if it was treated, I wasn't sure if she would survive.

She coughed and gasped for air a few times before slowly righting herself. She put a shaky hand to her breast and paled, but calmed herself as best as she could. I looked over at Dogmeat and saw the pained look in his eyes. He limped over to her side and licked her face. She smiled weakly, and slowly made her way to her weapon.

She managed to stand up (I helped her), but Autumn couldn't do much more than roll around on the ground. I helped her over to the man that killed her father, and she glared at him.

The look on his face was devoid of emotion. That man was heartless, and though he would say that he did regret his actions that day, anyone that saw the look on his face in his final moments would know that he was not sincere.

This man wasn't misguided, this man wasn't insane.

He was _evil._ He took pleasure in killing the innocent, and he wanted to make Project Purity his. It was for these reasons that Milly did the world another favor, and put one between his eyes.

Before she pulled the trigger, she muttered final words to him:

"For my Mother and Father."

Then, she executed him, and kicked his weapon away just in case he was (for some otherworldly reason) still alive.

She groaned, and I set her down. It was then that Doctor Li walked into the room. Milly weakly smiled at her (Dogmeat wouldn't leave her side).

Before anyone could say a word, a loud explosion reached our ears, and an alarm started blaring. I looked around frantically (as did everyone else save for Milly and Dogmeat).

"Darn it!" shouted Doctor Li. She ran to Milly's side and knelt to make eye contact. "Milly, listen to me: Whatever happened in here... one of you shot part of Project Purity. That alarm is a signal that a nuclear reaction is imminent. Hey, keep listening: The only way to keep it from exploding is to activate it- that will drain the radiation leak causing this reaction."

Milly stared for a few seconds. "I can do that," she said weakly. Doctor Li looked at me and then at Dogmeat.

"Milly, you must understand: In order to activate it, you have to go into the control room and punch in the code."

Milly nodded slowly. Her skin was starting to lose color.

"...the control room is absolutely flooded with radiation. Whoever does it will not be coming out."

She didn't even flinch, but Dogmeat did.

_"No! You can't, Mil!"_

"Milly, don't do this!" I said. "I can do it! I can activate it..."

She slowly got to her feet and leaned towards me, gesturing for me to lower my head to her.

"...M-make sure that Dogmeat doesn't f-f-follow me... It's my job, not yours..."

I looked at her in utter shock, but I saw the determination on her face.

"Milly..."

"...Take c-care of... of Dogmeat for me."

"You don't have to..."

She looked at her wound, at the bulkhead, and then back at me. "Yes... I do."

I saw her smile at Dogmeat mournfully. She slowly reached a hand out to him, but she couldn't pet him without falling to the floor. She sighed, her legs still shaking as she grew ever weaker.

"...St...stay here, Dogmeat! Don't m-move until... until... Cord says."

He whined lowly, and tears started leaking from his eyes.

"_Please... don't leave me..."_

She shivered. "I love you, boy..."

With that, she turned to the stairway and started walking up it. I put my paw on Dogmeat to help calm him, but he shouted at me to "get off".

I watched as Milly made her way up the stairs to make the ultimate sacrifice. I never saw anyone that brave before. Not even death itself scared her.

She fell to a knee for a moment in the control area, but managed to stand and trudge to a small keyboard. The bulkhead the seperated her from her father now seperated Dogmeat and I from her.

Even I cried during those moments. I wanted to redeem myself. I wanted to prove that I could help her...

Instead, I watched as she activated Project Purity. She watched as some machines whirred to life for a few moments, and slowly sunk to her knees. Then, she fell to one side.

We thought she was dead. If not, we thought she would become a ghoul...

The scariest part was not knowing if she was alive or dead. I know Dogmeat wouldn't mind if she became a ghoul, and I wouldn't, either... we just wanted her alive.

Even the Brotherhood of Steel watched in sad silence as Milly lay motionless. I found myself reciting one of my favorite biblical passages, now:

"Revelation 21:6- I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto those who are athirst of the fountain of the waters of life, freely.'"

A miracle occurred, and from it, I found a stronger belief in the existence of God:

When the bulkhead opened, the radiation was no longer harmful. She showed no outward signs of ghoulification, and though it was fading, her heart was beating.

With treatment, she might still have a chance to live. Even if she didn't, the wasteland would never be able to forget her family.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>1,590 words.<strong>

**Though it is shorter, I feel better about this chapter than last. I wrote it with more passion, though I couldn't make it too long or it'd get boring.**

**One of you assumed that I let Milly off the hook, but you shouldn't have. Don't jump to a conclusion when reading one of mine, because I might be a sneaky bastard and do something else.**

**Negative Eugenics is the belief that only those with satisfactory genes should mate and reproduce- those that have unsatisfactory genes are eliminated. There's a story of a woman that got pregnant, but a Eugenics society wanted her to abort and be sterilized. She didn't agree, so she took the group to the SUPREME COURT- guess who the Supreme Court ruled in favor of. Is it:**

**A) The sweet woman that wanted to be a mother.**

**B) The Hitler-like bastards that celebrate Eugenics.**

**C) None of the above.**

**If you answered "B", you're right! The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Eugenics group, and it gave them the right to have her abort and sterilize. I love my country and all, but... what the hell kind of call is that?**

**Because this is my own take on the _Fallout 3_ timeline, I'm twisting the Broken Steel add-on a little. You'll see what I mean next chapter.**

**Oh, and spoiler alert: Counting next chapter, there's actually only 4 chapters left (not including trivia). My mistake.**

**Next chapter covers what happens next (I.E I can't say or it'll get spoiled).**


	15. Have A Little Faith In Me

**Chapter 13**

**Have A Little Faith In Me**

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><p><strong>"A man not willing to die for something is not fit to live."<strong>

**-Martin Luther King Jr.**

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><p>"...anyway, this next song goes out to miss 101. Milly, enjoy this song... lemme see... your favorite: "Voodoo Child", by Jimmie Hendrix."<p>

There's a theory that coma patients can still sense sound, and so talking to them/playing music can help them wake up faster. That's what Three Dog tried to do over the radio, that's what I tried to do, and that's what I helped Dogmeat try to do. (I spoke to her for Dogmeat and myself. Three Dog played the music.)

By now, it had been two weeks. Three Dog dedicated the first song of every break to Milly those two weeks, and every song he played was a song that she either asked him about at one point, or told him that she really enjoyed. His was a vast collection of pre-war records that he once said he and his parents collected. No, he didn't say that to me directly; it was over the radio.

He played her songs from artists considered to be some of the best of their times: Jeff Beck, Jimmie Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, The Louvin Brothers- he never played the same song too often, and so I was never able to tell if the song he played on the radio was new or has been played before, except for during those two weeks.

The day she did what she did... I felt unworthy to be around her. I considered actually leaving her, but she put me in charge of Dogmeat while she was incapacitated, and he was already pissed at me, so I knew suggesting leaving would not fly with him.

Dogmeat lost a lot of weight in those two weeks. He rarely ate and rarely left her side. He simply sat by her, waiting for her to open her eyes so he could be the first she saw. I saw how much he loved her, and quite frankly, I didn't want to bother him by suggesting we go out for a walk. Instead, I'd leave to get food every so often and bring some back; other times a Brotherhood Paladin or Scribe would feed him.

More often than not, his plate was left mostly untouched. He went from being a big, strong dog to a frail creature with no meat on his bones. I was afraid that he was going to follow her, but he was always willing to obey her orders, even though he may question them at times. Her last order to him was to "Stay", and so he waited.

Dogmeat remained angry at me for a long time. I did not apologize right away because it wouldn't hit home with him. He was too shaken up to be worried about my mistakes, and I didn't want to bother him any more than I was by simply being around. I would try to get him to talk, and though his tone wasn't loud and angry, the emotionless, two-word answers I would get from him told me that he didn't want anything to do with me.

On the first few days, Milly was at death's door. Being hooked up to a vitals monitor, we could see what her heart was doing. After the first few days, her heart beat steadily, but at first... it nearly stopped a few times. Quick actions by Brotherhood nurses would fix it, but... it was close.

Every time her heart slowed, I saw Dogmeat slump close to the ground. I could only imagine that his heart was doing the same thing. If she died, he'd follow her- order or no order. He swore that he would always be by her side, and he meant even in death.

Three Dog nearly lost his mind the day Milly sacrificed herself. He chewed into the Enclave in such a way... it... it was almost a work of art. The things he said may have even changed the minds of a few Enclave enthusiasts.

Since then, we were hearing a lot of Milly's taste in music, and for a very good reason: She was willing to sacrifice herself for the entire wasteland, so the least it could do in return was play her favorite songs.

Milly practically gathered a cult following. Since her actions, a large group of people was always gathered outside Project Purity (I would go there every now and then to carry a barrel of water or two back to the Citadel). Most of the people were interested in fresh water, but a decent-sized chunk of those people wanted to know how she was doing, and when she'd be walking again.

The answer was always "I don't know".

A lot happened while she was out. For one thing, the Brotherhood graciously repaired her armor for her, and it even fixed up her weapons (if they needed it). Outside the Citadel, however, they were busy. The Brotherhood was mopping up the rest of the Enclave in the area, to the point where I almost felt sorry for the evil bastards. The head of "Lyon's Pride", Sarah Lyons, was knocked into a coma like Milly was when a secondary blast echoed through Project Purity (by then we were already at the Citadel; she stayed behind to help clean up the bodies). For the first time in a long time, a few patches of green grass started trying to sprout here and there in the wasteland. I believed that it had something to do with the clean water.

A week after Milly slipped into her coma, someone started blowing up Brotherhood caravans (not the ones delivering water, but those delivering supplies to Brotherhood bases). The Brotherhood didn't know who it was that was responsible, but they believed it was an immigrant, because the Brotherhood soldiers that survived the attacks said he had an accent. He was a sniper, and would attack caravans, scatter the Brotherhood, and then blow up the supplies. He did it a few times before heightened security scared him off. The Brotherhood was still looking for him, but he became a ghost. Idiot... At least he had the common courtesy to leave the life-water alone.

Liberty Prime was a giant robot and primary weapon of the Brotherhood of Steel. Dogmeat called it "The Iron Giant", and I even took to calling it that, because I liked that name. I also liked his name for the Enclave, but I digress.

During one of the clean-up attacks, the "bad tin men", as Dogmeat called them led the Brotherhood of Steel into an ambush. The Enclave appearantly had control of a satellite armed with missiles, and they targeted the Iron Giant.

As resistant to damage as the Iron Giant was, it could not stand up to the missile attack. Not only did the Enclave destroy the Brotherhood's greatest weapon, but the attack also killed a decent number of troops. If nothing was done to turn the tables back again, the Enclave could return, and this whole thing might repeat itself.

I heard Dogmeat make some sort of noise as Milly's heart rate slightly increased. I nearly jumped for joy myself. She started moving around a little. I didn't get closer, though. Dogmeat waited by her side for two weeks. He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke up, and I didn't want to ruin that.

She really was waking up. She started making noises and I could see her eyes slowly creak open. The moment they did that, I saw life return to Dogmeat. He held himself back, but anyone would be able to see how badly he wanted to jump up at her.

She smiled weakly at him and placed a shaky hand on his head.

"Hi, buddy..."

_"M...Mil..."_

She was still groggy, so she didn't notice right away how skinny he got. I didn't want to ruin the moment, so I went to find a nurse. They'd probably want her to stay overnight to make sure she's okay, but... that should be all. I wonder what she'll do next. I have every intention of telling her what I did; of telling her what I really am. If I felt I couldn't trust her after all she did, I'd have to be an idiot.

I never questioned my good fortune with the Brotherhood of Steel, anyway. They knew that I was her friend (I helped carry her back), so they put up with me, too. Like the slaves of Paradise Falls, they started off treating me like an animal and ended up treating me like another human. I'm glad the Brotherhood trusted Milly enough to allow me to live. Typically, sighting me and shooting at me are not mutually exclusive events.

I made a nurse jump when I poked her in the arm gently with a claw. She turned to face me.

"Milly's waking up," I said.

That's all I had to say to get the nurse jogging to Milly's room. With no other reason to stick around, I walked back to her room, too.

"...so skinny..."

I gulped. Dogmeat was skin and bone, and she tasked me with his care... oh, I am _not_ going to come out of this looking so good!

I gathered my courage and walked into the room. Milly was sitting on the gurney with her feet hanging over the side while the nurse wrote various numbers down on a clipboard from the vitals monitor. When she saw me, coma-girl pouted at me.

"Why is he so skinny? I told you to take care of him," she said, irritated. Dogmeat glared at me, but otherwise said nothing.

"He wouldn't eat," I said. "He missed you too much."

"He's a dog, Cord."

"I'm a deathclaw, Milly."

She paused for a moment, and the look softened. She eyed Dogmeat next.

"You were that worried about me, buddy?"

Dogmeat simply put his front paws on the gurney and licked her cheek. She smiled at him.

"Aww... I'm sorry..."

I walked over to her other side and Dogmeat wordlessly glared at me through one eye. I eyed him sadly, and then looked at Milly.

"Milly, I have to tell you something."

Milly looked up at me kindly.

"What is it, Cord?"

My heart started pounding and I was practically shaking. She eyed me, waiting for what I had to say. Even Dogmeat eyed me. Though he wouldn't admit it, I felt like he was willing me to come clean.

"...Welcome back. We missed you."

She smiled at me, but before she could say a word, Dogmeat barked a few times and stared snarling at me. She looked at him, as did I.

"Dogmeat! What's gotten into you?"

_"Tell her the truth or get out and never return, you bastard!"_

"No, he's right Milly... I... could you leave for a moment, miss?"

The nurse looked at me, and then at Milly. She nodded. "Yes, I'll come get you once we're done talking."

The nurse shook her head and pointed to me. "No, you'll stay on the gurney. Your friend will come get me."

"Fine, I'll do it! Just... please, miss..."

The nurse finally left and I took a breath. Dogmeat eyed me expectantly, and Milly stared at me, curious.

"What's on your mind?"

"Milly, it's like this..."

I told her everything. I told her all about my condition, how I was captured by the Enclave, how I agreed to terms I should have denied, and how I was the one that got her caught in Vault 87. I told her every little detail, even how she met my parents.

When I got to my betrayal, she shot me... or she may as well have.

I sat there and listened while she screamed at me and called me a traitor. Tears leaked down her cheeks as she verbally attacked me, and she even tried to get physical with me- she started pounding on my chest with her fists, but because she was so weak, she fell to her knees while trying. I helped her land gently and let her do as she wished.

I deserved worse. I deserved a bullet for what I did. Milly thought that she had her friends left in the wastes to help her... but I showed her just how good a friend I was. Eventually, she stopped hitting and stopped yelling, and just started sobbing into my chest. I did my best to comfort her, and at the same time I tried to... not be in the room. The last thing she wanted was to be around me.

"...why... you... you're..."

She couldn't string together sentences. The mutation didn't bother her nearly as much as my betrayal. Once she was calming down a little, I started speaking again.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I feel so low that... I want to go climb in a hole somewhere and rot. I don't have any excuses beyond simple greed as to why I did what I did... and I'll understand if you want me to leave; if you want me dead. Milly, you saved my life several times and I did nothing but repay you with garbage. I'd like the chance to redeem myself. Please allow me to help you destroy the remaining Enclave force, and then you can decide whether or not you want anything to do with me."

She sniffled a few times and pulled away from me. I looked at Dogmeat and... while I saw that he didn't accept my apology yet, I could tell that he respected me a little more for telling the truth.

"Why should I tr-trust you to help me? You could still be working for them."

I nodded. "That is true. I could be... but if I was, don't you think I would've finished you or something for killing Autumn?"

She looked down at her legs. "I guess that's true..."

"I'm sorry, Milly."

"You mentioned that... Cord, you betrayed my trust. You nearly got me killed. You lead the enemy to me... so, apology not accepted."

I kept a stoic expression, and she continued.

"You do realize that we're no longer friends, right?"

I nodded.

"And you know that I'm probably not going to want to see you anymore in the future, right?"

I nodded again.

"...but the Enclave threat is serious, so I'll accept your help. Go get the nurse for me."

With that, I wordlessly got up and walked out the door. I felt practically broken-hearted. Milly was a great friend to have, and she was as sweet as could be... so for her to look at me and say that we're not friends anymore...

...it hit home. After this, I would have nobody... I couldn't see my friends and family, and odds are Kastine wouldn't want to see me anymore... I screwed everything up.

I wouldn't complain about my punishment, though. I betrayed the sweetest girl I ever knew... so I deserved to wander alone. Still, my eyes watered up and I had a lump in my throat as I walked.

I was going to live with my mistakes; I had to live knowing that I betrayed the trust of those that cared about me. I wouldn't feel sorry for myself, though. I was in control of myself; it was I that made those decisions. Now, I have to live with the consequences...

...but if I can help the girl I hurt destroy what remained of the Enclave (she wasn't yet aware of their current status), then I'd be able to sleep just a little bit easier.

"Hey, you can go back in there now," I simply said to the nurse when I found her. She wordlessly started walking beside me. In the thirty or so seconds it took us to return to the room, I pondered what I was going to do when everything was over with.

I couldn't think of anything too good to do. I simply decided that I'd wander the wastes; visit various deathclaw sanctuaries scattered throughout the United States. Maybe I could start anew.

The nurse ran a few more quick tests on Milly, and everyone was silent. After several minutes, the Nurse told her that she was allowed to leave the room and wander the Citadel, but she could not go back into the wastes until tomorrow.

The nurse also quickly filled Milly in on what happened while she was unconscious, and she told her that the Brotherhood chapter's Elder wanted to speak with her. She smiled, thanked the nurse, and then looked at me.

Her smile vanished.

"If you would like for me to leave..."

"Not until this threat is destroyed once and for all. Think of it as a test to see where your loyalties lie, Cord."

I blinked. "Should I do well on this test... what would happen?"

"Then maybe we can still travel together. The fact that you show interest in passing tells me something... but even if I feel like I can trust you again, you understand if I don't rectify our friendship. Not yet, anyway."

I nodded. I wanted to travel with her and protect her, and I also wanted to be her friend again... so I figured that after I took a few bullets for her, she might come around again.

"And if I do poorly?"

"Then you and I go our seperate ways, and we never meet again. If we do, I'll shoot you."

I nodded again. "I understand."

"Come on. Let's go find Elder Lyons."

_"...Lyons? Oh, I thought it was 'Lion'..."_

I didn't say a word. Dogmeat wasn't talking to me anyway. He was just making a mental note or something.

Normally, there would be a lot of communicating going on between Milly and I while we walked to meet Lyons. Had I not betrayed her and I only told her about my mutation, I'm sure she'd be asking me a bunch of questions about it. Instead, there was nothing. We'd be talking like that if we were friends... but right now, we were just allies.

Nothing more.

I find it a little ironic that I set out two weeks ago to hurt Milly, and I ended up hurting myself. I really shouldn't be left alone.

Dogmeat wasn't glaring at me so much anymore. Now, he was simply ignoring my existence. Cord? Whose that?

We finally found Elder Lyons after about 10 minutes of searching. The man was invisible when he wanted to be. When he saw Milly up and about, he was pleased.

"Milly! It's wonderful to see you awake and well! Are you happy to see that your friend never left your side?"

She looked down at Dogmeat and smiled. "Yes, I'm flattered that he stayed by me for so long. You're getting a nice steak tonight, boy!"

Lyons frowned a little. He wasn't talking about Dogmeat... but she knew that. He didn't pry, so he simply continued speaking.

"Let us get down to business. I'm sure you've been briefed on the current situation..."

Milly crossed her arms. "I know that the Enclave is on the ropes, water is being distributed, and someone is attacking caravans. How's Sarah, by the way?"

Lyons visibly slumped. "Like you, minus the up and about part. Yes, we have the Enclave struggling, but we lost Liberty Prime. It was our primary weapon against their Vertibirds and other tech. Now, the Enclave is not going to admit defeat and back off. We're going to have to strike at their main base of operations in the D.C area."

Milly blinked. "I blew up Raven's Rock."

"You blew up nothing more than an outpost of sorts. The Enclave's main base of operations in our area is located in Adam's Air Force Base. Our intel suggests that they have control of a weaponized satellite. If they wanted to, they could destroy us with it like they did Liberty Prime. This game could be over..."

"...but if I can get in there and use the satellite..."

"Then you can target the base! We'd get you out of the blast radius with time to spare... but to do that would destroy the base of command in the D.C area. While you may still see stragglers, the Enclave would be essentially wiped out."

"What do I have to do?"

Lyons smiled. "We captured a few Vertibirds from the Enclave on our attacks, we've designed a new weapon secretely proposed by Nikola Tesla- we call it the Tesla Cannon. It is very effective against power armor and Vertibirds. It will be carried to an unguarded fenced-off area, and you will be transported by air within a mile of a blind spot of their base. You have to walk the rest of the way, though."

"What about Cord?"

"He'll be the one carrying the Tesla Cannon to the assigned area. Because of the Enclave's work with controlling Deathclaws by way of head-device, we built a fool's copy of it. His mind won't be controlled, but he'll look like he's another controlled Deathclaw. He'll be able to walk around freely if he uses it."

"Are you sure?"

Lyons hesitated. I snorted.

"...Well, if he brings too much attention to himself..."

"You think I can't keep a low profile?"

He stared at me. "You're a talking deathclaw."

I took two claws and did a 'zip it' movement over my maw, and Milly continued speaking to Lyons.

"You will leave tomorrow at 10 pm. This way, you'll have the cover of darkness to infiltrate. We're not certain of where the satellite is being controlled, so why don't you ask a soldier when you get there?"

"Interrogate a soldier, got it. Then, I rig the base to blow, and I get out of there before the fireworks start."

Lyons was pleased. "That's the plan. Now, why don't you get some practice shooting in at our firing range?"

Milly nodded with a smile. "I'll do that, thank you." Then, she looked at me. "Rest, prepare, cry in the corner- do whatever it is you do before a situation. Only make sure you do it quietly."

With those words, she walked off, and I walked in the opposite direction with a frown. I deserved everything she was throwing at me, sure... but it seemed like she didn't even think I'd show up to help her tomorrow.

Have a little faith in me, Milly.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>3,763 words.<strong>

**Don't get comfortable with the quick updates. Next chapter should be longer than this, but I'm not dead sure yet. There's a twist or two next chapter that might blow your mind- if you actually give a damn.**

**I think Milly responded to Cord's betrayal appropriately, but if I were her, I'd have just put a few in his head and went on with my life.**

**Actually, if I were her, I'd probably still be asleep. I can't remember the last time I wasn't a little bit tired.**

**Next chapter covers the base and stuff. After that, there's two more, and then trivia.**


	16. The Gilded Palace of Sin

**Chapter 14**

**The Gilded Palace of Sin**

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><p><strong>"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-"<strong>

**-General John Sedgwick's last words, uttered during a U.S civil war battle**

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><p>They called it "Operation: Cosmos" if you can believe that. I guess it was something to do with the satellite thing... either that or it's because the Enclave may as well be of another world... heaven knows they're stuck in one.<p>

Before the mission, we were briefed one final time on what was expected of us; what our duties were, and then we were instructed to meet at Vertibirds at different times. I was sent at 8:30 that night to carry the "Tesla Cannon" (Dogmeat's name for it was "Loud-Sparky Thing" after it was test-fired), and Milly was sent at 9:30, to arrive at 10:00.

We didn't see each other the entire day, though... at least, not Milly and I. I stumbled across Dogmeat a few times, and while he hated me for what I did, at least he'd speak to me know... though whenever I thought we were getting over what I did, he'd go back to it, and tell me not to "betray any trusts while I'm gone". Can't say I blame him, though. I was a total bastard. I needed to impress them both during this infiltration- I was willing to take bullets for them. I just wanted them to know that I'm good for trust- that I made a mistake but I'm not too far gone.

Still, Milly wanted nothing to do with me before the mission. Whenever I'd walk into the courtyard where she was practicing or if I walked into the cafeteria where she might be nibbling at some bread, she'd get up and leave. I didn't try too often that day, but I did it enough to know that she was deliberately avoiding me. Again, I can't say I blame her.

I spent my day thinking of ways to make myself useful to her. I had some serious ass-kissing to do.

When the time came for my part, I was outfitted with the fake mind-control thing (it itched), and sent into another Vertibird. On my second flight in one of them (the one I was conscious for), I was excited to ride one. I didn't want to this time.

I never liked Vertibirds after the Enclave. Whenever I so much as see one, I'm reminded of my mistakes. Besides that, they look absolutely _ridiculous_.

The Tesla Cannon was a device that could be carried by a human, but... it was heavy and fragile. Dropping it from a few hundred feet in the air was not an option, risking manpower wouldn't cut it, and Milly couldn't carry it during her infiltration, so... I dropped it off. I also requested something like a strap I could use to carry it easier. I might look less conspicuous if I'm carrying a weapon around like a pack mule.

The Tesla Cannon made use of the Tesla Coil. I don't remember what the scientists in the Citadel said a Tesla Coil _was_, but I do know that the day it came back with a Brotherhood team, every Scribe on the face of the Earth wet themselves. It was devestating to power armor and useful against Vertibirds and entrenched turrets. I also heard it could be used to toast bread. The only thing it doesn't do is get me a nice drink- other than that, it's your perfect all-purpose tool.

Additionally, the sheer weight of the thing could crush anyone. If we ran out of ammunition for it, I could give it a nice throw for Milly. If it wasn't such a fragile piece of equipment, I'd be able to throw it multiple times.

I was dead quiet the entire time I was in the Vertibird, though... those birds come in all sizes, and this one was pretty small. I could hardly fit in it scrunched up between seats. I was also worried that I weighed too much for the bird... and the pilot knew I was worried, because he'd deliberately stall the engine every now and again just to screw with me.

It must've been a sight to see a big, bad deathclaw stuck in the form of an origami swan jolting every time the bird sunk.

The trip lasted for twenty of the most uncomfortable minutes of my life. When we landed, I practically needed to be unfolded to get out of the Vertibird. Once I finally got out and cracked my neck a few times, I picked up the crate that took up most of the room in the bird and turned away.

"You take it right to the fenced-off area," instructed the pilot as he put a small plastic thing on the ground. "Once you do that, you come back here and wait- don't break this beacon, by the way. I see you eyeing it. If you do, it won't be so easy for your friend to be dropped off. Stand by, and good luck."

I walked away from the Vertibird as it took off, holding the big crate in front of me. The Enclave had no guards stationed in the area around its base; I assumed it was because their resources were spread pretty thin or something.

I was way wrong. I figured that out when I found a dead Enclave soldier in some brush nearby. His hands were relaxed and his throat was slit. It looked like he didn't even draw his weapon. I started snorting in the air for any signs of hostiles, but the wind was carrying scents away from me. I calmed myself and kept moving.

The crate was clumsy to hold, but for me, it wasn't that heavy (deathclaws can overturn pre-war vehicles with relative ease). I kept alert, in case whatever killed that soldier was out for me next. I wasn't super worried about being hurt by whoever killed him, but I didn't want to be cut, and I didn't want to fight anyone and risk blowing my cover until I was inside.

When I got to the fence-line, it was around 9:30 (I could've gotten there sooner if I wasn't keeping an eye out for trouble). I set the big crate down and I decided to sit for a little while, too. Though I sat in a spot behind the fence that was not visible to any Enclave soldiers (I positioned myself behind a few trailers unintentionally), I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't seen.

I could hear the Enclave soldiers talking inside the base, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Any higher-ups were probably talking about the Brotherhood threat and what should be done; grunts were probably talking about the best strippers in the wasteland. I was simply thinking of what I would do if I was allowed to stay with Milly. I knew I was a pet, more or less; an attack dog with more bite, but... that didn't take away from the fact that I wanted to be around her (not romantically; that would be weird). If she could see past my mistakes and who I really am, I'd be a happy accident. I told myself I'd watch out for her with the same passion as Dogmeat (except I'd pronounce the names of certain weapons correctly and he wouldn't). I'd guard her until death.

I really wanted her forgiveness... but it had to wait until this was over with.

My eyes glazed over, because I didn't notice Milly and Dogmeat approaching for a while. She actually put her sidearm to my head and whispered "Bang". I snapped out of my trance and looked at her. She took her pistol from my head.

"If I was a bad guy, you'd be dead. Stay alert," she whispered. I nodded, and slowly got up. She practically tiptoed over to the crate and took the Tesla Cannon from it to look it over a few times. She smiled down at it.

"It's got an ACOG scope on one side and a variable-zoom on the other," she whispered. "That might help."

With that, she handed me the heavy weapon. I pulled the strap around my chest and stood up with her. We walked over to the fence.

"Cord, cut through the fence. I'll keep an eye out for any soldiers."

I wordlessly nodded, and started to work on the old chain-link with my claws. I slowed down when I saw a hole that went beneath the fence about ten feet to the side. It looked large enough for a human to fit through, and it was pretty new. I slowly resumed cutting while Milly kept me covered.

Cutting through the fence quietly was tough, and took several minutes... but it kept us undetected. Milly wasn't so good at sneaking around places, so I imagine the Brotherhood gave her a quick lesson in the art of being invisible, or they figured that she'd get lucky. Even if she got caught, I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I know Dogmeat wouldn't, either.

When I finally got through the fence and pulled it back, she and Dogmeat went in first. They took cover behind the trailers, and I followed. Then, we slowly started making our way towards an open area- but two Enclave soldiers patrolling in front of us kept us from advancing. No, they didn't notice us- we were in the dark, but if they turned and looked, it would only be a matter of time...

I heard something like a "woosh!" and one of the soldiers crumbled to the ground with a crossbow bolt in his neck. The other stumbled to one side in surprise and pulled up his weapon, but a spear dug itself through his stomach (Enclave soldiers only wear power armor in the field, or when they're under attack and know it).

Milly, Dogmeat, and I were all surprised at the two attacks, to say the least. After several seconds, four men dressed like ancient Spartans walked out from a few nearby bushes. One collected the spear, two others hid the bodies. One more approached Milly (she held her weapon up).

I had never seen Legionaries before, but I've heard of them. Oh, I've _heard_ of them. Remember how sick and twisted Autumn was? He'd drop to his knees before Caesar, the self-proclaimed "Son of Mars". The man used water torture, the Iron Bull, and crucifixion to get his way, and he taught his Legionaries to do the same. They are cruel, merciless fighters. Their territory extends from most states beyond the Mississippi to parts of Nevada. The NCR (New California Republic) controls... California, and is also responsible partially for Nevada, as well.

Milly wasn't familiar with Caesar's Legion, so she did not lower her weapon. Legionaries believe women are inferior, so... that might be an insult...

...however, none of the Legionaries made a move to attack. Instead, they walked into the shadows with us.

"Lower your weapon, profilgate. If we were here for you, you'd be a slave halfway back to the Fort by now."

Milly blinked. "Then why are you here? And who are you?"

"The Legion's name should be known world-wide, so I'll ignore that last question. As for the reason behind our visit... we're here because we heard the Brotherhood has desires on the destruction of the Enclave in this area. We believe that this scum should be eliminated, too. A body as weak as the Enclave should not exist at all."

Milly nodded. "I see."

"You and I are not allies, woman. Allies are groups equal in status and honor. The Brotherhood disgraces itself allowing it's child-bearing force to battle. Women are weak, stupid, and inferior beings. They belong in the kitchen. We are here because the mighty Caesar believes "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". We are here to make sure that you get close to where you need to be, and nothing more."

Milly didn't flinch at any of the insults. She simply stared them down. The Legionary turned away.

"You may address me as Marcus. Now let's go. It is our duty to ensure that you make it inside the satellite control center. Caesar puts his trust in your rumored abilities. Do not disappoint him."

"How do you know about the satellite-"

"Caesar has eyes everywhere. Now, we go."

Milly acknowledged me for the first time in a while. I whispered "I'll tell you all about them when this is over with", and she stared. I sighed.

"Assuming you'd stick around me for the minute or two I'd need to explain," I whispered. She nodded.

A joint operation between Caesar's Legion and the Brotherhood of Steel was like dancing with the devil. First of all, Caesar's Legion has no influence this far east. It occupies most states beyond the Mississippi River, as I said. I heard the saying "Caesar has eyes everywhere" before, but... I always thought it was just a phrase. I also thought Caesar would be more worried about the growing tensions between his Legion and the NCR (I hear things), so why would he send his men to assist us?

Where would Milly stand with Caesar's Legion after this is over with? By the way she glared at our allies, I knew she wouldn't be joining them, and I could tell that she wasn't even okay with them. Still, the mission called for unpleasant alliances (like with me), so she'd suck it up... but would she go after the Legion once this was over with? Would the Legion decide she's too strong and try to kill her? Would they kidnap me and make me a slave again?

I felt like this was the first and last time we'd ever be on the same side of the battlefield as the Legion. I hoped we would never see them again.

Dogmeat was very quiet during the entire infiltration. He silently glared at the Legionaries while we snuck through the base. At one point, we had to stop cold.

"Cord," Milly whispered. "See those turrets on that building's roof? I'd bet anything that there's something important in there. Go in, look around, and get someone to disarm the turrets. Then, come out and get us."

I nodded. "I can do that for you."

"Marcus, wait up here until Cord comes back."

"I have to commend you for training a deathclaw so well. It listens to its master and knows its proper place."

The Legionaries didn't hear my voice, as all I've done so far around them was whisper to Milly once in a while. Still, I was sort of insulted. I'm a deathclaw, not a damned dog!

...No offense, Dogmeat.

As I walked towards the building I started to feel nervous. If this "mind-control" red-herring didn't pass, I'd be in a world of hurt.

My luck started to turn around, because I passed several Enclave Soldiers without being acknowledged for more than a second or two. Once they saw my mind-control thing (it still itched), they lost interest in me and went about their business. Apparently seeing a deathclaw walk around the base was normal. I didn't think the Enclave had _that_ many mind-controlled deathclaws.

When I got inside the building, I had to put an effort into keeping a good poker face. Inwardly, I was shocked at how many pods holding deathclaws there were. The walls of this big building were lined with these pods, and I even saw a few large crates, and inside I could smell a few angry deathclaws.

Some actually tried to ask me to open the lock, but I had to look the part, and so I didn't acknowledge them. It didn't make them less angry.

I scouted out the building like Milly asked, taking in all possible entrances, places to take cover, Enclave intel on various activities in the rest of the wasteland, and I even found the science lab. I decided that a science geek would be my best bet for interrogation (Enclave scientists know one combat technique- retreat), so I waltzed into the Science Lab and poked a nearby scientist in the shoulder with one claw.

"Huh? Who sent a deathclaw in here?"

I put on a blank expression and stared straight ahead like I thought the mind-controlled deathclaws would. The man stared for a few seconds, and I poked him again, and gestured for him to follow me.

"Must be Rose again... she can't get enough of me, guys!"

"Is Rose the name you gave your left hand?"

"No! It's the name of my right."

(I had to fight not to smile at that argument). The scientist followed me out the door, and I led him to a secluded area in the building- by secluded I mean "place where neither soldiers nor cameras could see what I did".

Once he walked into the area, I put one paw on his shoulder and one claw close to his jugular.

"What the-"

"Shh."

He tensed up when I made the "Shush" sound.

"This is a surprise inspection. If you pass, I'll give you the gift of life. Fail, and I spill your life-fluids all over the floor. Lead me to the turret control system and disarm them... but before we do that, answer a question for me- where is the satellite control terminal?"

"I-it's in the building with the dish at the top of it. If you plan on going there, though... you'll be put down. No deathclaws go in that building."

The scientist started walking towards the terminal and I followed him.

"I'd like to see them try to put me down," I muttered. The scientist kept walking, and his nose started bleeding. I snorted.

"Horn-rim glasses, nose bleeds, he has a hand named Rose... you're a manly man, aren't you?" I asked. He glanced back at me, terrified. It was around then that I noticed an amulet around his neck. I got closer and squinted to read the amulet.

It was Revelation 21:6. I stood tall again.

"Where did you get that?" I silently asked. He shakingly put a hand to the small amulet.

"A-all Enclave personnel got one when we controlled Project P-P-P-Purity..."

I shook my head and let out a low growl. He whimpered. "Keep walking," I muttered.

I had a feeling this was the last time he'd feel safe around a mind-controlled deathclaw... assuming the Enclave was still around after this.

He led me into a room with various knobs and buttons on the walls. He walked over to a few buttons and started pushing them. I looked out a window at the turrets and saw their muzzles turn to the ground; a sign that they had been deactivated. The scientist shakingly turned to me.

"Very good," I said. "Now one more thing: How attached to that amulet are you?"

M.W

I walked out of the building with a sense of triumph. I actually managed to subdue the scientist without killing him! (It wouldn't make much of a difference in the long run, but I felt better about myself anyway). I trotted towards Milly (I could smell her) and, after making sure there was no Enclave presence watching me, I crouched next to her.

"The turrets are down, and I got you a present," I said. She blinked at me, but otherwise didn't say a word.

"Good lord, the deathclaw speaks!" exclaimed one of the legionaries. Almost immediately, Marcus whirled to him and shot him to death with the crossbow. I did my best to ignore it, because I heard that was how legionaries told other legionaries to shut up.

I held out one paw and showed her the amulet. She eyed it for a few moments, and took it between her index finger and thumb to read it.

Her eyes watered up when she read it. "Where did you get that?" she asked. I glanced at the remaining legionaries, seeing Marcus tell two to hide the body of the third.

"The Enclave handed them out to personnel when they took control of Project Purity. No, I was not aware of that. I just found out while convincing a scientist to do as I wished..."

She stuttered for a few moments, and I could feel Dogmeat eyeing me. He was a little impressed. I could sense it.

A little.

"Well... uhh... thank you... Cord."

With that, she took the amulet from me and put it around her neck.

"This is not time to try on jewlery, profligate. We go."

With that, Milly spared me one more look, and we continued on. As we walked, I told her where the satellite control was located.

I was getting worried about what was going on. We were running into little resistance from the Enclave. We'd been in their base for a few hours now, and they were none the wiser. No alarms sounded, nobody turned the turrets on again, nobody was out doing patrols (maybe a few people here and there, but it wasn't as bad as what I expected).

A shot rang out and a Legionary to the left of Marcus crumbled to the floor. Milly dove behind cover immediately, as did the two remaining legionaries. Dogmeat and I followed Milly.

"Ambush!" shouted the remaining Legionary grunt. Marcus took a walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Fight for the glory of Caesar!" he shouted. Milly and I watched him curiously.

He surprised us. Moments after he said those words, twenty more legionaries made their way out of a few bushes and buildings. I glanced at the wave of Enclave soldiers approaching to deal with us, and I saw a few of their numbers turn and stab the man next to them, too.

The Legion really _did_ have eyes everywhere. It amazed me that they were even this far east.

Marcus and his Legionaries took to battle with the Enclave force. Milly started firing along with them while I started to get the Tesla Cannon off my back. I managed to get it out with great timing, too. No more than two seconds later, we started to her Vertibirds entering the area. I waved Milly over to me and helped her set up the weapon.

Four Vertibirds entered the area, and they were relatively large- they must've been carrying more troops. Those that Marcus and his troops were battling had little to no armor, but those joining the fight did.

Milly took aim with the Tesla Cannon and I steadied the back, and she fired at a Vertibird.

The shot went wide, and she groaned. One of the only downsides of the Tesla Cannon (besides weight and lack of _Cheri_ serving capabilities) is the low ammunition capacity. It only holds one round.

Milly reloaded the weapon as quickly as possible. Dogmeat stayed by her side, as did I. We didn't have much more time. If she missed again, the birds would land and we'd have a problem. She took aim, and fired again.

_This_ time, she hit one. Fire started spewing from one wing and it went into a death spiral- it actually collided with the Vertibird next to it and took that one down as well. One crashed into a random building nobody cared about; the other nearly hit the satellite relay.

Milly reloaded the weapon and took aim once more, firing and managing to take down a third out of sheer luck. The fourth got through and delivered more enemy troops.

"Profligate!" shouted Marcus. "We'll hold these rats off. You get to the satellite relay, and be quick! You won't have any support from us in there. Do not let Caesar down."

Milly nodded. "Thank you!"

Marcus ignored her and kept fighting. She looked up at me while clutching the Tesla Cannon.

I smiled down at her.

"Give me the Tesla Cannon and get on my back. We'll get to that relay."

For the first time in a few days, Milly actually smiled at me. I took the weapon and crouched so she could get on my back. Once she was on, I took off with Dogmeat beside me.

While I ran (the relay was adjacent to where the Legionaries were taking cover, but there was no place for us to hide while we made the trip), Milly started shooting at the Enclave from my back with her sidearm (it was a USP .45; I've used one before). I don't know how successful she was in hitting who she was aiming at, but it helped keep them from hurting me too bad.

I took a few bullets, but they could wait. What's important was, I managed to get Milly to the relay without injury, and Dogmeat wasn't hurt either (He used my big frame as a shield). Once we got to the door, Milly quickly took the Tesla Cannon from me, got behind me, and fired at the door of the building.

The blast put a decent-sized crater in the door, and she dropped the Tesla Cannon.

Meanwhile, I was wincing now. Most Enclave soldiers were taking covering fire from the Legionaries, but a few were firing at us (me), and it was starting to annoy me. Milly ran into the building with Dogmeat, and then I followed (but not before flipping the Enclave off).

Inside, I got shot again and I stumbled in surprise. I let out a cough and dashed at the soldier shooting at me. (The blast from the Tesla Cannon actually knocked two soldiers near the door unconscious) I was on him in a second, I knocked the weapon from his grip, and I drove my claws through his neck before flinging him into a wall like a rag doll.

Milly started shooting into the room to help cover me, and Dogmeat bounded forward, too. Four Enclave soldiers were still present in the room, and they were all behind cover. I ran to where I saw two hiding, and Dogmeat went after one. Milly got into a firefight with the fourth.

I intended on taking both of my guys out at once, but one had quick reflexes- quick enough to dodge my paw, at least. He dove out from behind cover and was almost immediately gunned down by Milly. I looked at the guy that didn't manage to dodge my attack and watched him slump to the floor, my claws stuck in his neck.

They can hide behind cover and be killed by a deathclaw, or jump into the open and be gunned down. Either way, they die and it's horrible.

I glanced over my shoulder to see how Dogmeat was doing with his target, but I was surprised when he was already finished and trotting back over to Milly.

Milly walked to my side and checked my wounds.

"Can you continue to partake in these festivities?" she asked.

"It's a flesh wound. I'm good to go."

"Good, come on then."

We searched the floor we cleared for the satellite control, but all we found were a few medical supplies and some lonely guy's porn collection. Milly groaned in annoyance.

"Darn! Fine, maybe it's on the next floor... come on, guys..."

I'm not usually one to brag, but I don't think I was ever better at keeping someone from being hurt than I was during the attack on the Enclave base. I didn't manage alone, though. Milly was getting ready to go upstairs when Dogmeat warned me that he could hear some bad tin men taking up positions near the stairwell. Sure enough, bullets started flying after I pushed Milly behind cover (and took a lucky shot to the tail- it hurt).

By now, I had taken around 15 bullets directly, and probably another bunch that grazed my skin. Milly was wearing her armor, but I was doing my best to keep her from having to test the Brotherhood's repair.

She started firing to cover me, and she called Dogmeat back (he wouldn't last long against three or four Enclave soldiers in close quarters). It was up to me to clear the path ahead, so I bounded forward (Milly nearly shot me by mistake) and I reached in the doorway.

I grabbed one soldier and pulled him out of the room, tossing him towards Milly so she could finish him. Once I did that, I reached in for another, but I took a few more bullets this time. I stumbled back and they took the chance- they broke cover and shot me again. Now with more bullets than I could keep track of in my body, I collapsed backward to the ground.

I wasn't bleeding out. I wasn't dying. Deathclaws that are shot by lower-caliber weapons tend to do this sort of thing- they get stunned for a short while if they take enough bullets. I was seeing stars, for sure... and I knew my wounds could kill me if given enough time, but I wasn't going to die right away.

The Enclave knew about that phenomenon, and were getting ready to finish me... but Milly and Dogmeat saved me. Dogmeat lunged forward and took one down, Milly took down another, and I managed to get the drop on the third.

I yanked him to the ground and dug my claws into his neck (if I can help it, I keep my kills quick and painless). Once I was sure he was dead, Milly gave me a quick patch job (she gave me a stimpack), and we were going to continue.

The pounding headache was not helped by the gunfight still going on outside. I couldn't sit around and complain, though.

"Come on, get up!" Milly said. I did as she asked, and we walked up the stairs.

More gunfire started and Dogmeat stumbled back with a yelp.

"You alright?" I asked, and he nodded his head vigorously. No bullets actually hit him. A few hit the wall a few inches above where his head was, though.

"Stay back here with Cord, buddy!"

_"Stay back?"_ he echoed.

"Stay back?" I echoed.

"You guys did a lot so far... so take a minute and let me handle this!"

_"Not alone!"_ he said.

"Not alone!" I said.

"Yes, alone! We don't have time to argue! Wait here!"

_"No!"_

"No!"

She was about to say something else when the gunfire got to be too much. She growled and threw her last flashbang into the room.

"Flash out!"

We were down the steps enough not to be blinded by the flashbang, but the sound was enough to mess up my hearing. All of a sudden I can't hear the gunfire anymore (it would've been heaven for my head if it wasn't ringing now), but I could see Milly's Steyr AUG being fired. I looked at Dogmeat and saw him staring in wonder, too. I could probably call him a name and he wouldn't hear me, but why risk my life?

Milly only took two rounds to her armor this time, but she toughed it out. Dogmeat and I had to clear our heads before we could help out anymore. By the time I was coherant again, Milly took out the rest of the Enclave soldiers in the area.

Dogmeat off-handedly mentioned that Milly made a habit of taking the dog tags off fallen Enclave soldiers so they couldn't be identified. She didn't take any off those in the base, but there was a reason:

By the time we were done, nobody would be recognizable.

On the second floor, we found no sign of the controls to the satellite. Instead, we found a list of the "10 Most Wanted" by the Enclave. Milly was number three; number one was Elder Lyons, and number two was Three Dog.

Elder Lyons being at the top of the list is sort of self-explanatory. Three Dog was higher on it than Milly because most of his radio broadcasts personally attack the Enclave in one way or another. While the Enclave would say they respect "Free Speech", they would've probably paid a lot of money for Three Dog's head. He's well-protected by the Brotherhood, though.

There were a few names on the list that Milly scowled at- she saw Eulogy Jones (the word "DECEASED" was under his name- I guess the slaves had their way with him), for slavery, and Allistair Tenpenny was wanted for "crimes against humanity". There were a few that Milly smiled at- a super mutant named "Fawkes" was wanted for "aiding a known hostile (miss 101 herself)"- even that guy Milly said bullied her, Butch DeLoria, made the list for "armed assault on an Enclave scientist". Finally, there were names Milly wasn't familiar with- "Nikolai Rascalov", wanted for "terrorist attacks against the Enclave", "John Borgia", wanted for "smuggling drugs into Enclave territory", and a "John Doe" (the word "DECEASED" was under his name, too), wanted for slavery.

I don't remember what order the names were in, but I think Butch was towards 10, Rascalov was at around 4 or 5, Tenpenny was 8, and Borgia was 9. The others escape me.

Really, all we saw was a list of people that did something to harm the Enclave (in other words, people I owed a drink). Once we were sure there was nothing else, we walked up another staircase.

A bullet nearly caught Milly between the eyes- it would have if she didn't trip on one of the steps. Once she was down, she rolled down the stairs a little to avoid gunfire. Dogmeat and I rushed in to protect her.

There were over five Enclave soldiers firing upon us, so it was necessary to be swift. Rather than kill with one swipe of my claws, I'd rake them against someone's torso and stab at another- the former's reaction to the injury would give me enough time to kill another. Once the second was dead, I'd finish the first. Then, I'd move on to the four or five that were firing on me, and I'd start on them, too.

My injuries were becoming serious now. I didn't know how many bullets I took, but even a deathclaw will fall if hit enough by a low-caliber gun (weapons like a Barrett .50 Caliber rifle? Forget it.). My attacks were slower now, but they were still deadly. I saw Dogmeat take quite a few rounds, too. He actually fell onto his side, and for a moment I thought he was dead...

That brief moment made my attacks deadlier. I managed to kill another three before Dogmeat came to again and took out his third hostile.

Milly managed to kill the final two in the room. Once they fell, I dropped to the ground for a few moments, too.

_"Are... y-you well?"_

I eyed Dogmeat, watching as Milly gave him a quick patch-job, too. His wounds were so bad, that he wasn't even able to stand anymore. He was lying on one side, and though he was critically wounded, he still tried to look strong.

All I managed was a cough while I breathed. Most of my earlier wounds had coagulated, but the new ones were still bleeding. Milly quickly patched my new wounds, too (with a few rolls of bandages) and we searched for the relay.

This time, we managed to find it. Milly wasted no time and got to work on the relay. At the same time, she started talking on a walkie talkie I'd only then noticed.

"I hope my transport out of here is ready, because this place is about to be levelled," she said into the walkie talkie.

"We're ready and waiting. Exit the door behind you when you're done, and we'll get you out of here," said a familiar voice (I wasn't really able to tell who it was with the static going, too).

Milly started typing on the keyboard and I picked up Dogmeat, slinging him over my shoulder.

_"...P... put me down..."_

I snorted. "Not until we're on that stupid Vertibird."

Milly pressed one more button on the relay and a loud alarm started blaring throughout the base. She turned on her heels and started running to the door behind us. I followed with Dogmeat on my shoulder, weakly protesting all the way.

When we got out the door, a Vertibird was waiting just as promised. The pilot waved us in, and once we were all aboard, the Vertibird was taking off. I spared a look out the window at the ground. Every Legionary that was covering us had vanished- even those that no doubt died during the attack.

Milly collapsed into a seat on the bird, and I set Dogmeat down gently on the few seats next to her (I chose to stand for the trip- I felt like if I were to fold into the position I was in earlier, I wouldn't be able to get out of it again). She took a breath and finally looked around at the Brotherhood members around her.

Her eyes practically fell out of her head when she saw Sarah among them. The other coma girl brushed some hair out of one eye and smiled.

"Nice job out there, Milly."

"Sarah? It's great to see you up and about again!" said Milly. Sarah smiled again.

"My Dad almost didn't let me come out to help extract you. I wanted to be there to watch the base blow up... look out the window! It's happening!"

Milly didn't take her eyes off Sarah while the fireworks went off. She was totally shellshocked. She knew that she herself was tough- she wreaked havoc on the Enclave a day after she woke up from a coma, but Sarah came out by Vertibird to extract her the day she woke up. Sarah Lyons? Only one of the toughest people I've ever seen (I'm sure Milly thought the same thing, too).

The missiles rained down on the shrinking site of the Enclave's last stronghold, and a shockwave was sent through the air. The sound of the blast hit us all at once, but it was dwarfed by the cheer that ran through the Vertibird. It wasn't just a base that was being destroyed. The Enclave, at least in the D.C area was crushed, and its power was lost forever in those few moments.

Milly glanced at me during the trip back every so often, and I couldn't tell just by looking at her what my fate would be. Did she trust me again, or was I out?

She wouldn't tell me what she decided during the trip. I don't even think she was sure. She had one hand on Dogmeat during the trip (after giving him another stimpack to give him enough energy to move again), and her eyes were all over the Vertibird.

When the Vertibird finally landed at the "Congratulations" finally stopped, Milly walked out of the Citadel to meet me. I didn't want to be around for the gratitude the other members of the Brotherhood wanted to show her- I felt like I had no place there. Instead, Milly gave me one more stimpack, adjusted my bandages, and I went out to enjoy the sunrise.

I didn't take my fake mind-control thingy off yet (it didn't itch anymore). I honestly forgot it was there. For a few moments I wondered just how "fake" it really was.

"I do not feel sick. I feel perfectly normal now," I mumbled in a monotone to nobody in particular. I was just trying to get my mind off whatever Milly was going to say to me.

I was looking at the constellation Orion, and one particular red star in it, Betelgeuse. I kept eyeing it until the sun finally rose and the stars were no longer visible.

When footsteps interrupted my train of thought, I looked over my shoulder to see Milly. She stood next to me and for a few moments said nothing.

I broke the ice.

"So..."

"So..." she echoed. I looked down at her and saw her frown up at me. My blood ran cold.

"Thank you for... your help, Cord."

I blinked. "Do you want me to leave?"

She nodded slowly. "I think that would be a good idea. You are known well enough in this wasteland to get a doctor to take those bullets out of your body if you like. I don't think the ones that stayed inside you will cause any more damage, though."

This time, I nodded. "I see."

I wasn't acknowledging the bullet thing. I was acknowledging the fact that she wanted me to leave. With that, I slowly turned and started walking off, my heart weighing heavy.

I did all I could to help her back there, but...

A lump formed in my throat and tears started leaking from my eyes. I had nobody left. The only person in the world that I could count on was now sending me away.

I almost broke out into a sprint, but...

"Cord!"

It was Milly. I stopped and looked over my shoulder, and I turned around completely when I saw her start jogging up to me.

"Kneel down," she instructed. I obliged, curious as to what she wanted to do. Maybe she wanted to shoot me...

She didn't. Instead, she took the fake mind-control thing off my head and tossed it to one side. She smiled at me again, tears forming in her eyes. Finally, she wrapped her arms around me.

It got pretty mushy, I'm not going to lie. She told me she forgave me; told me she wanted me to stick around. I asked what changed her mind, and she sniffled.

"You betrayed my trust, yes... but after the wounds you received; as I saw you walking your own way... I had to forgive you. It's what a family does."

My relief was overwhelming. "So you accept my apology?"

She only hugged me tighter (I couldn't or I might kill her). "Apology accepted."

"Dogmeat?" I asked. He simply stared.

_"If this is what my human wants, I won't kill you while we travel. However, I don't accept your apology."_

"What if I get you a big, juicy steak?" I asked. He snorted.

_"That would be a start."_

A bright flash interrupted our moment, and we all simultaneously looked up at the sky. For a brief moment, I thought the Enclave was attacking again... but I was struck speechless at what I saw.

The red star I was staring at- Betelgeuse... it went supernova before our very eyes! A supernova can briefly outshine an entire galaxy... and Betelgeuse was the first star to go supernova in the Milky Way since the invention of the telescope.

Milly, Dogmeat and I stared in awe at the spectacle for a few minutes. It was outshining the sun, so we were able to see it even in the daylight.

Dogmeat, Milly, and myself... we walked back to the citadel for a nice, long rest with Betelgeuse behind us. I would sleep well that morning knowing that I still had Milly and (though he wouldn't admit it) Dogmeat.

Their company is certainly a lot better than the Enclave's!

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>7,200 words.<strong>

**I lied again. For some reason I must've thought that this chapter would look better divided into two- that is, one part covers the infiltration and the next covers blowing the base up. I looked back and thought that it was an absolutely idiotic idea, so yes, even I make mistakes.**

**In reality, there's one more chapter to this story, and then trivia. One of you asked me to make it longer, or make a sequel. NO, I am not making this story any longer than it needs to be- HOWEVER, there is going to be a sequel to it, and we will meet new people, new places, learn new things, and stuff. It'll be started once I finish another story after this one- that should be around 6 or 7 chapters.**

**If you look up at the night sky and see Orion, the bright red star in it is Alpha Orionis, better known as Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse is expected to explode as a supernova within the next 10,000 years (it may have done so already). It will not harm Earth (a Supernova 10 parsecs away or closer would kill us all), but it will be the first supernova to go off within the Milky Way since the invention of the telescope, so every astronomer on Earth will wet themselves.**

**Next chapter covers concluding the story and some foreshadowing. **


	17. Hickory Wind

**Chapter 15**

**Hickory Wind**

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><p><strong>"It is something that grows over time... a true friendship; a feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time... The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go... This song is dedicated to the power of the heart... Listen to the Bolero of Fire..."<strong>

**-Sheik**

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><p>She checked my wounds the next morning, after we all slept the sleep of the dead, and got some relaxation afterwards. Milly doesn't often get to wind down, but when she does, we listen to the radio, tell each other stories (or jokes), and once in a while, we'll pick on one another.<p>

After she told me my wounds were okay (they hurt a lot), we relaxed. She asked me to tell her more about my mutation, as she thought she could help reverse it, but... before I mentioned anything, I told her that if the Enclave's top science nerds couldn't openly _cure_ it, she wouldn't be able to, either. I told her that I didn't care what happened to me anymore. It's like Kastine said- why bother fighting change when you're beat?

Still, she was totally fascinated with what happened to me. I went over with her what happened the best I could (I had to re-explain it again because there comes a time where words are not enough to describe what happened). After the second explanation, she asked me some questions, but she didn't act like I expected her to act (like her Dad after my MRI).

Come to think of it, very few reacted like I thought they would when they just heard me talk, let alone learned of my mutation (I keep it secret except for my closest friends). I expected wide-eyes, surprise, people to gush about how "amazing" it is, etc... but usually, I'm treated as an animal at first, and eventually as another human. The only time that never really happened is with Milly (well, maybe that one time).

She'll correct someone if they call me her deathclaw, or her pet. "His name is Cord, and he's my friend, not my pet." I tell her not to bother; that a toothpick is the same as a wood interdental stimulator, but... she doesn't care. She will call me her deathclaw on occasion (usually to intimidate a Talon Merc or a Raider), and I'll go with it. It's like how Dogmeat calls Milly his "human". It's hard to tell just who exactly is the pet, and who is the master.

After we spent a little time at the Citadel (people kept trying to congratulate us all for what happened), we went back to Megaton, and it was there that we got _another_ applause. Three Dog personally acknowledged everything Milly did, and he even mentioned Dogmeat and I. However, there was no mention of the Legionaries assisting us. It was like they were never there.

On the way back to Megaton, I told Milly about my decision to never see my parents in this form. I told her that believing I was dead was better than seeing me like this, and she disagreed.

"How about this: When we get back to Megaton, narrate a letter for me to write to your parents in your name. I'll make it seem like someone well-connected thinks you owe him money, and you had to leave D.C on short notice."

I actually stopped walking and she turned to face me.

"...You'd do that for me?" She smiled.

"I told your parents I help them gain closure. I think the best thing would be to let them know that you're alive and well, and you just had to leave! It's better than telling them you're dead."

The look on my face was enough to get Dogmeat to mutter something.

_"I hate to ruin the moment you and my human are having, but I'm still tired and I'd rather avoid a fight with those approaching feral ghouls. Can't you smell them?"_

I snorted in the air a few times and let out a low growl.

"Milly, we should keep moving. Dogmeat and I smell Feral Ghouls."

She groaned. "I really don't want to deal with them right now..."

"Take a number... here, get on my back."

She blinked. "You know, a deathclaw that wasn't you gave me a ride back to Megaton not long ago..."

I snorted. "Yeah, that was Kastine..."

Milly climbed onto my back and smiled over my shoulder.

"Did you know her?"

I nodded slowly. "We were mutual acquaintances for a while."

"You should talk to her sometime. If you want, we can go with you... up to the sanctuary at least. I'd rather not experience the radiation in there if it did... what it did to you."

I did speak to Kastine eventually. The first time I tried, I was honest with her, and I told her about why I was so selfish. Did she smile and accept my apology right away? No, she kicked my ass out! Eventually (a year or two later) she finally accepted my apology. Kastine knows how to hold a grudge. I think she's still pissed at her mother for saying she was "the spawn of the devil" when she was introducing me to the older deathclaw... Rightly so, too! That creature strikes intimidation into the deathclaw part of my mind.

I digress. Once we got back to Megaton, we went into her house (though it was a ramshackle building, it was one of the largest in Megaton) and she sat at a desk, looking up at me. An old typewriter was on her desk.

"Well?" she asked. I only took a breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes, the sooner it's done, the sooner I can give Dogmeat a B-A-T-H."

Dogmeat's ears perked up from the other side of the room.

_"A what?"_

"What, you can't spell, Dogstench?"

_"What did she say?"_

"She said 'life is too short'."

Dogmeat kept staring at us with his ears perked up, and eyes wide open. He kept like that for several minutes before warily lying his head down again. By the time he did, though, Milly and I were already nearly finished. It wasn't very long. Not much was required to get across what needed to be said.

When it was finished, she read it back to me.

"Mom and Dad,

I know I haven't responded to your messages or been heard from in ages, but please rest assured knowing I am okay. I've been accused of stealing money from a crime syndicate in the area and I had to leave on short notice. I don't think those I pissed off know where you live, and I would like to keep it that way. Please do not write back. If I can at some point, I will follow this letter with another. Stay safe.

Cord."

With that, she smiled up at me.

"What do you think?" she asked. I nodded.

"After all I've done to you... you still find it in your heart to help me with this."

"I told you, we're good. Besides, I promised your parents I'd look out for you, anyway. At least they'll know some of the truth."

We were silent for a few moments, and Milly kept looking at me.

"Cord, are you sure you want to keep this from your parents? Are you sure you want to travel with me?"

I nodded. "I'm as sure as I could be. I want to help defend you like Dogmeat there."

_"I'm better at it than you are."_

I glanced at him, and then looked at Milly. "Seriously, it's the least I can do. Also, I can cut trips down. You'll be one of the first humans to ride the back of a deathclaw, if not the very first."

She smiled up at me, and then looked over her shoulder at Dogmeat. All of us were silent for a few seconds, and Milly stood up and walked to the bathtub, filling it with water.

Dogmeat probably thought she was going to take a bath herself, or else he would have hid. I quickly learned how much he _hated_ baths. Of all things in the world, Dogmeat fears bath time. The only time I've ever seen him whine in fear and shrink away was during bath time... but it was always amusing to watch Milly clean him up. I was safe. If I ever need to get clean, I just jump into a body of water. All I have to worry about are Mirelurks, and they don't usually bother deathclaws.

By the time Dogmeat figured out what was going on, it was too late. Milly called him to the tub, and I helped her get him inside it.

He flipped out.

Water went everywhere. He started thrashing this way and that like he was a ragdoll in a shark's mouth. For a few moments, it felt like Milly and I were getting the bath. He _hated_ it!

He called me a traitor, asked Milly to stop, and even tried to get the "metal man" to help him... but all the robot (Milly's personal butler) said was he's "allergic to dogs".

"Dogmeat, this will go a lot smoother if you relax!" I grunted. Though I was strong enough to lift heavy objects, it was difficult to keep a thrashing dog down when you're soaked with soap and water and can't see what you're doing.

_"Relax? Relax! How can I relax? I can't see anything, my ears are stuffy, my nose hurts, and my fur is heavy!"_

"Yeah, yeah... Milly, do you have a sedative or something?" I asked. She giggled while she gently scrubbed some soap into Dogmeat's fur.

"This wouldn't be fun if I sedated him," she asked.

_"Fun for who?"_

"Hey, Dogmeat. Remember how I whimpered during that stimpack injection?"

He stopped thrashing for a moment and looked at me, horror evident in his eyes.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Come on, Dogmeat... just let me finish up and we'll dry you off and get you a nice steak!"

When I was a kid and my parents took me for my first haircut, I hated it. It was very uncomfortable and... I was a year or two old. After I suffered through the haircut, they gave me a lemon lollipop. I couldn't help but think of that while this was going on.

The bath took about 30 minutes, and by the time it was done, the once clean water looked like a melting pot of mud. Water was everywhere, the metal man was complaining, the bathtub had to be cleaned, and a lot of what was on Dogmeat was now on Milly and I... but the plus side was now Dogmeat didn't smell like Yao Guai piss.

We dried him off with a few towels while the metal man (I like Dogmeat's name for him) started cleaning up. Once we were done, Milly got changed into dry clothes and even helped dry me off, and then we had dinner.

Before bed that night, Milly would take a bath, too... and then we'd all go to sleep. My dream bothered me for many weeks, but I wouldn't tell Milly about it.

I dreamt of a tent somewhere, and in front of it were two banners with a bull on each. Inside the tent... was the nightmare of the west himself- "Caesar". Before him were several legionaries... and while Caesar himself didn't appear too strong, his legionaries remained fierce fighters. One bowed to Caesar.

"What is the status of the Enclave in D.C?" Caesar asked. Another legionary took a step forward.

"Marcus and his team helped the profilgate infiltrate their base. If we give the scouts a few days, we'll know if she was actually successful. Marcus had to pull out with his team."

Caesar was unmoved. He leaned forward in his chair a bit.

"The NCR is prepared to battle for the dam. I feel as though the fight will come at any moment. Send word out on the radios- all legionaries, scouts or otherwise, are to return to base immediately. We need all hands on deck for the battle."

"...Caesar?"

He stared at the Legionaries.

"Go! We will worry about D.C... later."

When most people see me, they either run or shoot at me, because most people know they cannot outrun me. Deathclaws continue to prey on anything they want; my condition changes nothing. I was never out to prove that deathclaws are lovable creatures (they aren't).

I'm perfectly content with wandering around with Milly and Dogmeat.

All I ever wanted was to show one thing, and that is what lies beneath this gruff exterior.

I'd say I achieved that goal.

End of Chapter

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><p><strong>Al la fin to the max.<strong>

**2,142 words. I'm not such a huge fan of this, but I couldn't think of many ways to finish this story up. The meeting Cord dreams of is meant to be foreshadowing (I think the NCR and the Legion fought in 2277 once before, right?)**

**Next chapter is just trivia. If you want to see why I did what, go ahead and read the stuff you may have missed. Just bear with me; it requires me to re-read the entire story carefully.**

**Go to my profile page and vote for which characters you liked most in "Beneath This Gruff Exterior". You may choose up to two, or just one.**


	18. The Stuff You May Have Missed

**The Stuff You May Have Missed**

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

-The title of this story, "Beneath This Gruff Exterior", is the name of an album by John Hiatt.

-The "intelligent deathclaws' Cord is talking about are those in _Fallout 2_. I never played that game.

**Chapter 1:**

-A Five-Seven is a pistol.

-Cord's original name in this fic was Alan. I changed it because I didn't like the nickname I gave him. I withhold that nickname because to this day I'm not quite sure what was going through my head, besides sleep deprivation.

-A Geiger-Counter keeps... well, if you can't figure it out by reading or playing _Fallout, _then you're an idiot.

-I think Cord considers "Pre-War Books" a kind of good luck because of nostalgic value or something. I dunno.

-There's a goof here: Cord says he finds an "Assault Rifle" in good condition, but the FN P90 is a submachine gun.

-Looting for weapons would be a lot more complicated than in _Fallout_. You need to know how to use the weapon, how to deal with kickback, and you need to know what kind of ammunition it uses. If you try to load a weapon with the wrong ammo, there's a possibility of it blowing your hand off.

-I'm still waiting for laser weapons. Any day now, S&W.

-I intended for Cord's wandering the sanctuary to last longer, but I couldn't think of much to write for it. As I recall, I was sitting around for a good 45 minutes trying to think of what to have him do. I also should've been working on "Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels". I have ADD.

-The deathclaw Cord bumped into is Kastine.

-I'm not sure how accurate my description of being irradiated was, considering I've never actually been cooked.

-"Something in our hands..." is Kastine's way of saying DNA.

**Chapter 2:**

-I hear that bullets don't actually hurt so bad. Someone I knew that was shot twice at war says it feels like something collides with your body, and then there's a burning sensation. Being shot really doesn't hurt as bad as you think.

-When Cord mentions Three Dog forgetting some PSAs and re-doing them, it's a reference to what really happens. I practically have a few by heart now. "If your weapon is falling apart, the only wasteland asshole it's gonna kill is you, so be smart..."

-I was never a fan of the idea in _Fallout_ that it's all about how strong your weapon is. I don't care how strong my rifle is. If nothing else, you're going to flinch if I put a bullet through your torso. Or your head. You'd think any well-placed bullet would be "crippling".

-A body will usually try to reject foreign objects. I once had stitches after I did something really stupid, and one piece of a stitch was still in my hand after the rest were removed. It remained in my hand for several weeks until my body actually rejected it- that is, slowly pushed it out through my skin. It didn't hurt. Basically, your body will say "GTFO" to invading particles. Sometimes.

-"I ignored the cigarette that lightly burned my palm, and all the raider managed was a muffled 'Mmph!'" Looks like that raider *takes off sunglasses* got smoked.

-"Dissenter be damned" is a reference to the Madness Combat series.

-I don't consider Milly to be an OC because she's the Lone Wanderer. If I made _Fallout_, you'd be able to ride deathclaws, throw rocks at people, fly, and use babies as projectiles like in that dutch commercial. Also, when you died, the enemy would have to keep shooting your dead corpse for 30 seconds exactly, or you'd come back to life and it would start all over again. And there would be a superhero named Bacon. Be glad I did not make _Fallout._

-I wouldn't be a very good doctor. "Hey, Dr. Seethatguy, I've been shot! Get the bullet out!" "Hell, no! That's gross. You get the bullet out..."

-In hindsight, Milly and James' last name should've been House. This way, James could introduce himself as Dr. House.

-I had to go back to add the part where Milly tied the bandana around Cord's neck, because I already planned on her seeing him in the future. How would she have known it was him from a distance?

**Chapter 3:**

-"That's The Way The World Goes 'Round" is a song by John Prine.

-A little birdie told me that he thought Agatha gave you a Beretta Tomcat after beating her quest. She doesn't. Be glad she doesn't. The Beretta Tomcat's a tiny-ass gun that can fit in the palm of your hand. Giving someone one as a gift in the _Fallout_ universe would be like flipping that person off. Additionally, the Beretta Tomcat has kind of an underlying meaning in this story- but more on that later.

-I actually did intend on sending Cord to Old Olney to meet some deathclaws, but midway through I said "Hey, wait a second! I could just be a dick head and send him to Paradise Falls!" So that's what I did.

-"La Bebeta" literally means "The Drink" in spanish.

-The only reason the medic is in this chapter at all is so I could reference Mediocrefilms.

-You know what radiation can do to the immune system, right?

**Chapter 4:**

-"Endzone" is a reference to an area in _Dead Frontier Online._

-Nuka-Cola and Mentats. Coke and Mentos. Get it? No? Nothing?

-Cord's description of being electrocuted is fairly accurate.

-Caterina's name is derivative of Caterina Sforza.

-If you sneak up on a deathclaw and stand in front of it, and it doesn't notice you, sometimes it starts biting on its nails. That's why Cord has that habit. I know because I got bored one day. After that, I went to Tenpenny Tower and proceeded to blow myself up with the Fat Man repeatedly. I was trying to see how high I could get.

-"Like Satan, she can take many forms..." is a reference to a line in _Two and a Half Men._

-There's an interesting phenomenon with the blackjack analogy. Without the "alright, that's a bunch of shit" part, it's just a corny simile. With it, it becomes funny.

-"Hit or sit?" is a reference to McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

-I was originally planning on making Cord fight feral ghouls, but it really _would_ be too easy.

-If someone ever says "You failed", just reply with "So did your Dad's condom!" I don't recommend you use it on teachers, though.

**Chapter 5:**

-How else could I explain Dogmeat's high health other than a great resistance?

-A Dragunov is a Russian sniper rifle. Snipers will have a larger role in Manifest Destiny.

-Milly's "aura" that kept Yao Guai away is a reference to the Animal Friend perk.

-I'm not sure why the .44 Magnum is scoped in game. It's a handgun, not a sniper rifle.

-Get the Clint Eastwood reference? You feeling lucky, punk?

-Sunlight reflected off a glass surface can be seen up to around 7 or 8 miles away. Light reflected off a sniper rifle's lens can give away a sniping position.

-"Cooking" a grenade means pulling the pin and holding it for a bit before tossing it, so whoever you throw it at has less time to escape the blast radius. Just make sure you don't cook it too long... or you'll be the person in the blast radius.

-I used "I'm Only Sleeping" because of exactly where Milly was hit. If she died of blood loss, she'd probably go quietly. Additionally, since she acted so fast, it can be seen as a little irony.

-If someone shoots you and clips your femoral artery, you have about 4 minutes before you bleed out. You don't want any artery cut.

-Cauterizing a wound is a simple technique for stemming blood flow quickly. I'm not sure if cauterizing a punctured artery is a good idea or not, but it's basically as described in the story- you take an open flame to your wound.

-Okay, since some of you didn't figure out where I was going with this story until 3/4 through, I'm going to assume some of you still don't know where I went with it- IT'S A RETELLING WITH A TWIST! Don't picture Cord as an OC so much as a companion.

-"You're like a nightmare that won't go away" is a reference to something my 10th grade English teacher said to a friend of mine.

-"What's controlling the robot- a computer, or the human brain?" Screw you, Dennett.

-"Tranquility Lane 0666". Get it?

-Braun was almost as messed up as I am.

-Though I'm 19 years old, I still would've made fun of Timmy for being beaten up by a girl.

-This story reached a new level of strange when we got to Doc the Dog talking, didn't it?

**Chapter 6:**

-"By Sweat and Toil" is the name of a mission in _Red Dead Redemption._

-MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. An MRI machine is essentially a giant magnet.

-PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography.

-Sometimes bullets are influenced by wind, and I've heard that they've been influenced so much that they just bounce off a person's skin. That's got to be humbling for whoever is shooting the gun.

-I don't know why I decided on Milly running into Cord's parents. I think it was one of those times where I got really bored and wanted to have fun at the expense of my character. In game, I've been known to go to the top of Rivet City and push Dogmeat off.

-I almost had Milly figure out Cord's little secret, but... that connection wouldn't be realistic.

-Since an MRI is basically a giant magnet, if you have a bullet inside your body and you go inside one... that bullet won't be inside your body for much longer, nor will whatever was in its way.

-I was trying to get at Dogmeat being a hardass, but at the same time, capable of caring for his friends.

-Milly forgot the basement for a reason: I could play this game 100 times, I could memorize every line of dialogue if I wanted... and I'd _still_ forget to clear out the damned basement.

-_Marvel_ is a reference to... well, you know. I really never was a fan of superhero shows/comics, anyway (except _Teen Titans_ and _Static Shock_)

-If you're ever being mugged and the mugger has a bat, there's a move you can use to disarm the mugger. Rather than avoid the bat swing, get closer to the person, let the bat swing under your arm, wrap your arm around it, grab it, and jerk downward. The mugger won't be able to pull the bat up with all his or her strength, so you should be able to pull it free. If the mugger doesn't let go, punch with your free hand. Soon you'll have a new bat.

-I don't think sucking the bone fragments out with an old Hoover is medically sound.

-I think that the _Fallout_ universe was originally going to call Med-X "Morphine", but Australia didn't like it or something. It's a good thing we kicked their asses during the Australian-American war, huh?

-Morphine and "dying now" is a reference to that scene in _Saving Private Ryan_. Also, we'll be seeing morphine in Manifest Destiny. And we'll see guns. And buildings. And the sky. And the sun...

-The only reason Cord is bi is because I wanted to use that "rounding up from 50%" joke, which is a reference to _House._

-"12 o'clock high" is meant to direct attention to 12 if the ground was a clock-face, and high up... because the word "high" is in there.

-Milly dislikes the use of the "F" bomb. If I remember right, she only uses it once throughout the story. Cord uses it a few times, in narration and dialogue.

**Chapter 7:**

-"I'm not jumping in the way of any projectiles..." is a reference to how Jack died in _Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels._

-Look up the Gary Larson cartoon "Custer's Last View".

-Gruthar is a reference to a talking deathclaw in _Fallout 2_.

-Sergeant Ramirez is a reference to that guy in _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2._

-I was trying to make it so for the first few paragraphs of Dogmeat's narration, you thought it was from Milly's point of view. That's why you don't see "I responded" or "she said" until after Dogmeat says "easily dispatched by my teeth".

-Daniel openly fired the Beretta Tomcat in this story. The moment he fired a bullet, he was doomed. Milly, however, carries the Beretta Tomcat but has never fired it in the story, so she lives. If you fire the Beretta Tomcat, odds are you're not going to be around much longer. It's essentially a symbolization of Death.

-Because Dogmeat is an animal, I don't expect him to know many weapon names or technological words. Ergo, he knows some weapons that Milly mentioned, but will mispronounce a few others.

-In reality, the radiation released in an atomic event would kill roaches. The idea that roaches would survive a nuclear apocalypse is a myth.

-"I thought I saw a pussy cat" is a reference to Tweety in _Looney Tunes._ I used to watch it when I was little.

-"Too many cooks..." is a reference to a popular phrase.

-The "special ball" is the plasma grenade.

-"...hunt them down and blow them up..." is foreshadowing to Milly's hand in blowing up Raven Rock.

-The "balls of blue stuff" are paintballs.

-Again, we see the number 666!

-"Lazlow" and "Chatterbox" are references to Lazlow Jones, the host of "The Lazlow Show", and the fictional radio station in _Grand Theft Auto III. _Jones is hysterical in GTA III, but kind of a jackass in real life.

-Eden's real reason for not killing Three Dog would be his being protected by the Brotherhood of Steel.

-Again, the FN P90 is a submachine gun.

-When I started this story, I thought my explanation of Cord's mutation would be sound... but it's kind of stupid. It's the best I could do, though.

-One of you figured that Cord could take the treatment and leave... but do you really think Eden would let him leave so easily?

-If I said Cord was "the chosen one" or something, then he's at risk of becoming an overly powerful manly stu, or mary sue, or whatever it's called... however, if I simply say he was "very, very lucky", that possibility is removed.

**Chapter 8:**

-Dogmeat's feeling of intense dread occurred at the same moment Cord took the injection.

-Dogmeat's "acceptance" of the unknown is like the final stage of the grieving process- Acceptance is not described as a feeling of enlightenment, and it is not happiness or courage. It is neither happy nor sad. Acceptance is nearly devoid of feeling.

-This wasn't my intent, but now that I read about Dogmeat's ignoring the worst case scenario with Cord, it seems a lot like denial.

-Let me offer you some advice: Don't sleep on recliners. It doesn't matter how young you might be. You will wake up the next morning with the back pain of a 65 year-old man, and you will feel that way until you crack it back into place. Or until you sleep on the floor. Side note: If you have a bad back pain, sleep on the floor. It helps.

-A shooting star is actually just a meteor. A meteor that enters the atmosphere is called a meteroid. A meteor that touches down is called a meteorite. They aren't the same as asteroids- asteroids are larger and can pose a threat to life. One large asteroid that could've caused serious damage actually entered the atmosphere, was filmed hurtling through it, and then it went back out into space. The NEO (Near-Earth Object) search isn't always perfect.

-Milly's not perfect when it comes to weapons. Her training with guns simply dwarfs the training most wastelanders have. When we get to more organized foes, Milly tends to get hit more, as you've seen.

-"The Iron Giant" is a reference to an animated movie of the same name.

-Vault 13 is another reference to _Fallout 2_.

-"The one that survived was albino" is a reference to Goris, the possible deathclaw companion in _Fallout 2_. If he left with the Chosen One, odds are good that talking deathclaws survived.

-"I'm still waiting to find out why he was shot in the knee..." is a reference to The Five People You Meet In Heaven.

-"202 degrees southwest" is my attempt at a reference to azimuth. Altitude and Azimuth are typically used to locate stars in the sky. I couldn't think of any other way to direct Milly.

-Someone in the Brotherhood is going to be blacklisted in Manifest Destiny i.e receive a burn notice.

-The CZ-75 is a semi-automatic pistol.

-Did anyone else notice that the special ripper is called "Jack"? You know, as in "Jack the Ripper"?

-The "M4A1" is an assault rifle.

-Cord and Kastine were together because I was trying to get at Cord becoming more like a deathclaw. It was my attempt at playing the psychological card.

**Chapter 9:**

- "Long Road Out of Eden" is a song by The Eagles, and also an album.

- The deathclaw the Enclave's radar picked up could be Kastine returning after helping Milly.

- Dogmeat complaining about walking to Vault 87 was actually me complaining through him. I really didn't want to write about Milly and Dogmeat walking all the way there.

- The deathclaw Cord speaks to is an Alpha male.

- "The last thing you'll never see" is a reference to that slogan Boone mentions in _New Vegas._

- Let me tell you the difference between a shotgun blast and a .50 caliber round: The shotgun blast kills you. The .50 caliber round kills you and everyone else in the room. A Barrett .50 Caliber sniper rifle is capable of firing upwards of a mile and a half with lethal consequences. The rounds make short work of walls and armor.

- Milly actually should have kept shouting in the Yao Guai territory. If Yao Guai are irradiated bears, and it's recommended that you make a lot of noise in bear territory so you don't surprise one, she should've kept shouting.

- I think "NO TRESSPASSING: Violaters will be shot. Survivors will be shot again" is a sign in _Grand Theft Auto III._

- "...shy of a barrier seperating us" is foreshadowing Milly's near death experience activating Project Purity.

- "...dogs can't look up" is a reference to _Shaun of the Dead._

- The MP5 is a submachine gun.

- Milly figured out how many possible codes there were using nPr: 10P4, or 10 possible digits with 4 selected: nPr= n!/(n-r)!. 10P4= 5,040 possible number combinations.

- The "boom-ball" is the fragmentation M67 pineapple grenade. In English, that's "Frag grenade". It uses both explosive trauma and shrapnel to incapacitate targets.

- The flashbang grenade (or bang-ball. I like that name) is used to stun enemies by over-stimulating the eyes and ears. Though it is considered to be less-lethal, a flashbang grenade can kill you if it goes off right next to your noggin- or if it actually scares you to death.

- I saw a tombstone in one of those old _Suikoden_ games when I was young that read "Loneliness is a slow-acting but fatal poison." I got to thinking of it when writing about Fawkes' isolation.

- The see-through shield Fawkes uses is a bullet-resistant shield. However, there is a difference between "bullet-resistant" and "bullet-proof".

- The "Stay-ir AUG" is Dogmeat's mispronunciation of "Steyr AUG". It's an assault rifle, and also one of my favorites. It looks really col.

- "That one nearly gave me a haircut!" is a quote by John Marston in _Red Dead Redemption_ while in gunfights.

- Again, Milly comes close to firing her Beretta Tomcat, but she never actually pulls the trigger, so she stays safe.

**Chapter 10:**

- "Keeping Cord in Line" is a reference lyric in the song "The New Soft Shoe".

- "FNG" is a derogatory military term. It stands for "Fucking New Guy".

- I'm no expert with guns, but I think that automatic weapons don't have high rates of fire necessarily to hit targets all the time. I figure automatic is a good way to provide suppressing fire.

- We see 666 again! That pretty much rules out heaven for me.

- The asset that endlessly tries to irritate Autumn is Cord.

- If I recall right, USP stands for Universal Self-Loading Pistol.

**Chapter 11:**

- I think "Improvise, adapt, overcome!" is a Marine phrase.

- Dragon Skin is an experimental armor. At one point, Dragon Skin was placed on top of a live fragmentation grenade, and despite the point-blank explosion, the armor survived (albeit with heavy damage). For the sake of this story, think of Dragon Skin as the equivalent of T-51b Power Armor, except... it has to be repaired once in a while.

- "IED" stands for Improvised Explosive Device.

- "FLIR" stands for Forward Looking Infared. It is used to pick up heat signatures.

- Soldiers are actually trained to aim for the chest area, so when you see movies where soldiers get headshots every 5 seconds (and they aren't snipers; snipers are trained to aim for what they refer to as "The Deadly 'T'"), the movie producer is what you might call an "idiot".

- "Tango down!" is a phrase used by military personnel to acknowledge that a target is dead.

- I was trying to use "Iron Curtain" as a phrase for communism as a whole here. Not sure what I was thinking.

- I was not intent on making it seem like Autumn activated Project Purity at the end of this chapter. I just thought it was a decent way to end it.

**Chapter 12:**

- "Remember My Family" is a stranger mission in _Red Dead Redemption._

- Negative Eugenics is the idea that only those with the best genes should reproduce, and those with illness, injuries, or disorders should be sterilized. A woman with some kind of disorder was pregnant, and a Negative Eugenics group wanted her to abort and be sterilized. She wanted to have the baby, so she took the case to the Supreme Court, and the Court _still _ruled in favor of the Eugenics corporation. She had to abort and was sterilized. Alexander Graham Bell was with Negative Eugenics for a while, too... until they started talking about exterminating those without great genes.

- Autumn's injury may have been a torn aorta.

- My actual favorite biblical passage is John 3:16. That's not to say I don't like Revelation 21:6.

**Chapter 13:**

- "Have a Little Faith in Me" is a song by John Hiatt.

- Want to listen to some real music, none of this "Lady Gaga" or "Justin Bieber" shit? Look up any of the artists Cord mentions.

- Notice that the patches of grass Cord mentions only sproud "here and there". That's so as not to take away from the significance of Oasis, which you will see if you plan to read "Manifest Destiny". If grass and trees were sprouting all over the place, what value would Oasis have?

- I either read somewhere or heard somewhere that, if a human dies in the wild with his or her dog, the dog stays by the body. I'm not sure if that's a myth or if it's true.

- Events that are mutually exclusive are two events that can not occur at the same time- i.e Flipping one coin and having it land heads up at the same time it lands tails up. Cord's joke is just an example of a wise sense of humor.

- "This game could be over..." is a reference to the fact that _Fallout 3_ is... you know, a game.

**Chapter 14:**

- "The Gilded Palace of Sin" is an album by _The Flying Burrito Brothers._

- I'm not so sure if this is correct, but ACOG stands for something like "Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight" or something. It's a telescopic sight that can be mounted on some weapons.

- A variable-zoom scope can... zoom variably.

- That the Legion assisted Milly is crucial for the plot of "Manifest Destiny".

- The Iron Bull is a nod to (I believe) the Bronze Bull. It was an ancient torture and execution device. It was essentially a hollow bull smelted out of bronze. Victims would be placed inside the bull through a door on the belly, the door was locked, and a fire was started just under the bull. Inside it, the air would be suffocating, and you would be cooked alive. There was an extension of pipes inside the bull that led out the bull's nostrils that allowed some fresh air in. Victims would put their mouths on the pipes and start breathing deeply. Outside the bull, it sounded as if the bronze animal was grunting.

- I'm talking about Chinese Water Torture- a victim is tied to something face up, and water repeatedly drips on his or her forehead. It doesn't kill, but it can drive you mad.

- _Cheri_ is a reference to a lovely alcoholic beverage.

- We're going to meet one of those people on the Enclave's 10 Most Wanted list in "Manifest Destiny".

- The Legionaries didn't actually vanish. Those that died either were hidden or taken away. Taking the bodies of your dead away after a fight can hurt an enemy's morale; for them to think they made some progress and come back not long after the battle to find none of their enemy's bodies... it gives off the impression that resistance is futile; that fighting is useless.

- Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is the bright red star in the constellation Orion. It is a red supergiant, and is expected to go supernova within the next 10,000 years. That sounds like a long time, and by human standards, it is... In astronomical terms, 10,000 years is not even the blink of an eye. Betelgeuse can explode tomorrow- it may have already done so. Since Betelgeuse is greater than 10 parsecs away from us, the supernova would not hurt us... but when it happens, every astronomer on Earth will be looking at it. Rigel, or "Beta Orionis" is the bright blue star in Orion. Blue stars tend to live anywhere between 1 million and 10 million years or so, which is nothing compared to smaller stars (stars like the Sun have a total lifespan of about 11 billion years; red dwarf stars can live for over 100 billion years). If I was a betting man, Rigel is going to follow Betelgeuse within the next few million years.

**Chapter 15:**

-"Hickory Wind" is the name of a song by Gram Parsons.

- "There comes a time when words are not enough..." that's especially true when talking about science- It's not possible to accurately define what the singularity of a black hole is with words, because words can't express what it is correctly- you might call it a "point where space and time cease to exist", but that's not all true, because the word "point" suggests size, and a singularity has no size. The only way to really define a singularity is through a bunch of mathmatical equations.

- "a toothpick is the same as a wood interdental stimulator..." an interdental stimulator is double-speak for "Toothpick. "Pre-emptive counterattack" is double-speak for "Invasion", and "Forward leaning rest excercise" is double-speak for "Push-ups".

- That story about the haircut is true. As I recall, the lollipop wasn't even that good.

- If I let Caesar know what the outcome of the fight was now, it would mess up the timeline of "Manifest Destiny". I'd imagine he would need all hands on deck for the fight with the NCR.

* * *

><p><strong>That's all she wrote for Beneath This Gruff Exterior, if anyone actually cares.<strong>

**Again, "Manifest Destiny" is going to be written once I finish another story I'm working on (I've yet to upload it). If you're interested in seeing what I plan to do with it, keep up with me.**

**From now on, there will be no updates to this story.**


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